Japanese Obama meets real Obama

The same TV show that sent singer Nezumi Senpai to search for China’s fake Mickey Mouse sent comedian and Obama impersonator Nozomu Sato to America to meet the real Barack Obama. The episode will not air on Japanese TV until later this week, but the Chicago Tribune has already reported on their meeting (click link for video):

A few days later, Sato makes his way to St. Louis, where Obama is holding a rally beneath the Gateway Arch. Police estimate the crowd at 100,000. After the speech, Obama greets his supporters and, somehow, Sato and crew make it to the front row.

To Sato’s shock, Obama approaches him.

Sato is paralyzed with fear. Then he musters: “My name is Obama!” Sato screams. “I’m Obama!!!”

Their eyes meet, their hands shake.

The Japanese Obama is hysterical.

The real Obama notices the resemblance. Obama points at himself, points to Sato, back to himself and again to Sato.

Unfortunately, the crowds prevented them from having a more meaningful exchange of words. But it’s still a pretty impressive accomplishment compared to their Chinese Disneyland segment’s failure.

The same article also mentions that Sato deliberately chose actual tanning over blackface:

Sato was hesitant at first to impersonate Obama. He used dark makeup once, but realized a Japanese portraying a black man might bear the whiff of a minstrel show. It was tanning sessions from that point on.

“Sun. Oil,” Sato says in English.

His imitation is so far-fetched it steers clear of insensitivity. There are no exaggerated movements. No accents. It’s subtle, yet unambiguous.

Was it a case of the American reporter making an assumption about the reasoning behind Sato’s choice, or was Sato actually aware of the possible offensive nature of blackface?

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