President Barack Obama, who is on an official visit to Japan, was welcomed by the Japanese emperor Akihito and Queen Michiko when he visited the King’s palace. The tall and lean Obama had to exert much effort to bow before him when they first met because the Japanese emperor is a short man. Many people and media have criticized the very act of Obama to bow before the emperor and to honor him. Drudge Report pasted its headline as “Obama bows before Japan’s emperor”. The criticism is based upon the point that it is a violation of protocol which constrains the President of the United States not to bow before anyone. Many news headlines have shown how much some factions in the United States had been disgruntled. They are censuring how low he will go. Obama’s bowing is being compared historically with such “bowing incidents” by the other presidents in the past. Dick Cheney, the former Vice President and Douglas MacArther are the other two precedents of bowing to emperor. Douglas Arthur bowed to king when United States captured Japan after World War II. His bow is being perceived as below-the-dignity and not comparable with the other past examples. The recent bow by the President shows that he didn’t fully understood the type of relationships which have been between the two countries. Similar criticism was lashed against the President when he bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia during G20 conference. Some media persons have gone to the extreme extent and deemed the act as “Treason”.
Obama Bows to Japanese Emperor
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