TOKYO – Writing fun facts about a prime minister can’t be easy even for The Japan Times, except perhaps when it comes to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
”His fifth daughter is married to a Japanese national,” the 126-year old paper said of the Malaysian leader in its Asean-Japan 50th anniversary special today.
The special is published in conjunction with the Summit of Asean leaders with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida which is happening tomorrow (December 18).
The leaders of Asean had their first summit with Japan on December 18, 1968 in Tokyo. Asean was then only five countries.
In its special, the editors at The Japan Times allow a maximum of only seven paragraphs to be printed for each of the 10 Asean leaders as well as for their own prime minister.
The last paragraph makes up the “fun fact” about each leader.
Fun fact about Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: “…Lee’s hobbies include programming; in 2015 he used Facebook to post code he wrote to solve Sudoku puzzles.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.: “…a Beatles enthusiast and a basketball fan, and known to enjoy eating king crab.”
Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin: “He loves soccer and is a supporter of English club Liverpool.”
Indonesia President Joko Widodo: “…enjoys riding motorcycles and listening to heavy metal music.”
Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet: “Despite his rigid image as a military man, he showed a human side during his election campaigns by posing for selfies with supporters.”
Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah: “…enjoys polo, squash, badminton and is a qualified aircraft and heli pilot.”
And of their own Kishida: “…is an avid fan of the Hiroshima Carp baseball team.”
The Japan Times’ editors clearly had some difficulty in finding fun facts that are fun for the following leaders:
Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone: “…(he) visited Tokyo in 2022 to attend the state funeral of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot at a political event earlier that year.”
Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: “…(he) became the first foreign leader hosted by PM Fumio Kishida when the Japanese leader took office in 2021.”
And, the least fun “fun fact” must go to Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing: “Japan… does not recognise the Myanmar junta as a legitimate government.” – December 17, 2023
Datuk Ahirudin Attan, also known as Rocky Bru, is the executive director of Big Boom Media which publishes Scoop