Japanese Ambassador: Sings Welsh National Anthem
・Welsh Prime Minister Morgan responds with “Kimigayo” in Japanese
・British people deeply impressed by the importance of patriotism
Summary from Kyodo News.
Wales: First Minister Morgan
An event was held in Cardiff, Wales, on January 9th.
First Minister Morgan expressed his gratitude to Ambassador to the UK Hiroshi Suzuki (right).
Ambassador Suzuki: Sings Welsh “National Anthem”
Ambassador to the UK Hiroshi Suzuki took up his post in November last year.
He sang the “national anthem” of Wales in the local Welsh language.
Mr. Suzuki posted on X (formerly Twitter):
A video of Mr. Suzuki singing is becoming a hot topic in the UK.
Wales First Minister Morgan expressed his gratitude to Mr. Suzuki directly on January 9th.
1. Suzuki’s post on X (formerly Twitter) was viewed approximately 600,000 times.
2. The BBC and private broadcasters also featured Suzuki’s video post extensively.
Declining number of Welsh speakers:
Welsh has been spoken in Wales for a long time.
1. The number of Welsh speakers is declining due to the spread of English and urbanization.
2. The national government designated Welsh an official language in 2011, but it has been difficult to gain acceptance.
2019 Tokyo Tournament: Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was held in Japan.
Japanese spectators sang the national anthem in Welsh.
Welsh patriotism:
1. When Suzuki heard that Japan’s World Cup was well received, he decided to try it himself.
2. He replaced the lyrics with Japanese katakana and filmed a video while looking at the lyrics.
Suzuki said, “I realized that the people of Wales value the Welsh language.”
Welshman sings “Kimigayo” in Japanese:
This event was held in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, on January 9th.
First Minister Morgan was very impressed by Suzuki’s video.
In return, Prime Minister Morgan sang the national anthem in Japanese.
Just Japan’s new ambassador: belting out Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
From reddit.com/comments/:
1. fair play to him! from the nation that gave us karaoke
2. Having looked at a lot of YouTube videos to try and crack this (I’m English, but I am an absolute sucker for a home Welsh rugby game), I am still rubbish at the pronunciations — he’s done superbly.Every ambassador should be made to perform this one in some sort of Simon Cowell-style litmus test. Gold buzzer goes to Japan
3. Bloody superb effort, love Japan’s respect for culture. 4. This warms my Welsh heart! Pretty good pronunciation too! (Holding a fluffy dragon makes it)