Muhler
Imperial Majesty
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 16,783
- City
- Eastern Jutland
- Country
- Denmark
Summary of a number of articles in Billed Bladet #24 & 25, 2011.
All written by our correspondent in Japan, Ulrik Ulriksen.
Wearing a T-shirt with the word: hope, Frederik toured the parts of Japan where the tsunami has hit the hardest. Frederik was the first royal, apart from the Imperial family who had been visiting the area affected by the tsunami.
After his courtesy call at Crown Prince Naruhito and the Imperial couple, he went on to the city of Higashi Matsushima, which is located in one of the most severely affected areas.
Frederik first met an elderly couple, Mr. And Mrs. Ogata, who was separated during the tsunami but who fortunately was reunited. They were waiting for Frederik in front of their completely levelled house. After shaking hands with them: “Konnichiwa, Mr. And Mrs. Ogata”, he heard their story. When the tsunami warning sounded they fled, but the water caught up with them and they were swept away. They survived unharmed and found each other again.
Upon returning to their house they found their photo album, which was particularly precious as it contained pictures of their daughter who passed away some years ago.
Then it was off to meet the mayor of Higashi Matsushima, Hideo Abe, who responded to the donations by Danish companies, which were officially handed over by Frederik, with a heartfelt: “Arigato”. At the same time an invitation for twenty children to stay in Fredensborg for a week was also conveyed.
Then it was off to Akai Minami kindergarten, where 75 children were waiting for him. And this is the right element for Frederik, who has a very good rapport with children. He naturally followed local costumes by changing shoes, when he entered the kindergarten. Frederik may not have been able to speak with the children, but he could communicate with them, that worked fine. He sat in the middle of a minor sea of children and sang along to a well-known children’s song. They in Japanese, Frederik presumably in Danish.
The kindergarten has been rebuild with the help of donations from a Danish company and the toys, which were handed out to the children, were also sponsored. In return they gave him a hat made from paper, which he promptly placed on his head.
Frederik told the children: “I have four children. Two of them also attend a kindergarten. And two are twins and five months old. I personally know all the toys I’m about to give you. Because my children play with the same toys at home. When I come home, I’ll tell them about how happy you are and I’ll tell them how courageous you all are, because in my country we don’t have big tsunamis and the ground doesn’t shake like here in Japan. I wish you a lot of funny hours with the toys and do keep on behaving well”.
Frederik the drove in a Danish sponsored school bus, to Hamaichi Elementary School and he chatted with some of the schoolchildren on the bus. At the school the Danish adults played soccer against, what appears to me to be two teams of school children, pink and yellow. The adults lost 2-3, despite a spirited effort by Frederik.
After the visit to the school, he went sailing among the islands off Matsushima, where tourism has dropped disastrously, before returning by train to Tokyo.
Frederik lived with the Danish ambassador to Japan, Franz-Michael Mellbin and his wife Eva. The ambassador said: “The Crown Prince can something, which many others can’t. He has an enormous impact here in Japan”. The Japanese medias were certainly in place and Frederik’s visit to the kindergarten was shown live on one of the major networks.
His visit was featured in one of the popular morning shows, but the emphasis was just as much on how Frederik is as a husband, father and as an physically active person, which they concluded must be the secret of his hot and well trained looks. (*)
But this was also about promoting Danish commerce, not least in the view of the major rebuilding, which is going to take place in Japan. Alternative energy was among the main topics and this is an area where Denmark has a considerable know how. That doesn’t mean the Japanese are behind in that respect, oh no! Frederik went for a test ride in a prototype of an electrical car at Nissan. (**)
The visit ended with a reception at the Danish embassy, where resident Danes had a chance to meet Frederik.
Our reporter noted that a number of giggling teenagers took pictures of Frederik and a couple of female journalists confided to him: “He is very handsome”.
Our man in Japan interviewed Frederik on the train back from Higashi Matsushima. More on that in the next post.
(*) Og ikke et sæde var tørt…. They’ve sure been drooling!
(**) Here in DK there is a 300 % tax on new cars and what is even more idiotic, environmentally sound cars are no cheaper. Result: we drive in older and more polluting cars. Why doesn’t the current right wing government cut down on taxes on cars? And why is there no danger the next left wing government will cut down taxes, I can hear you ask? Because it’s a great money machine! Those of us who live in rural or semi-rural parts of the country (and that means outside the eight or so major cities/towns) have to have a car, so there is no need to cut taxes!
All written by our correspondent in Japan, Ulrik Ulriksen.
Wearing a T-shirt with the word: hope, Frederik toured the parts of Japan where the tsunami has hit the hardest. Frederik was the first royal, apart from the Imperial family who had been visiting the area affected by the tsunami.
After his courtesy call at Crown Prince Naruhito and the Imperial couple, he went on to the city of Higashi Matsushima, which is located in one of the most severely affected areas.
Frederik first met an elderly couple, Mr. And Mrs. Ogata, who was separated during the tsunami but who fortunately was reunited. They were waiting for Frederik in front of their completely levelled house. After shaking hands with them: “Konnichiwa, Mr. And Mrs. Ogata”, he heard their story. When the tsunami warning sounded they fled, but the water caught up with them and they were swept away. They survived unharmed and found each other again.
Upon returning to their house they found their photo album, which was particularly precious as it contained pictures of their daughter who passed away some years ago.
Then it was off to meet the mayor of Higashi Matsushima, Hideo Abe, who responded to the donations by Danish companies, which were officially handed over by Frederik, with a heartfelt: “Arigato”. At the same time an invitation for twenty children to stay in Fredensborg for a week was also conveyed.
Then it was off to Akai Minami kindergarten, where 75 children were waiting for him. And this is the right element for Frederik, who has a very good rapport with children. He naturally followed local costumes by changing shoes, when he entered the kindergarten. Frederik may not have been able to speak with the children, but he could communicate with them, that worked fine. He sat in the middle of a minor sea of children and sang along to a well-known children’s song. They in Japanese, Frederik presumably in Danish.
The kindergarten has been rebuild with the help of donations from a Danish company and the toys, which were handed out to the children, were also sponsored. In return they gave him a hat made from paper, which he promptly placed on his head.
Frederik told the children: “I have four children. Two of them also attend a kindergarten. And two are twins and five months old. I personally know all the toys I’m about to give you. Because my children play with the same toys at home. When I come home, I’ll tell them about how happy you are and I’ll tell them how courageous you all are, because in my country we don’t have big tsunamis and the ground doesn’t shake like here in Japan. I wish you a lot of funny hours with the toys and do keep on behaving well”.
Frederik the drove in a Danish sponsored school bus, to Hamaichi Elementary School and he chatted with some of the schoolchildren on the bus. At the school the Danish adults played soccer against, what appears to me to be two teams of school children, pink and yellow. The adults lost 2-3, despite a spirited effort by Frederik.
After the visit to the school, he went sailing among the islands off Matsushima, where tourism has dropped disastrously, before returning by train to Tokyo.
Frederik lived with the Danish ambassador to Japan, Franz-Michael Mellbin and his wife Eva. The ambassador said: “The Crown Prince can something, which many others can’t. He has an enormous impact here in Japan”. The Japanese medias were certainly in place and Frederik’s visit to the kindergarten was shown live on one of the major networks.
His visit was featured in one of the popular morning shows, but the emphasis was just as much on how Frederik is as a husband, father and as an physically active person, which they concluded must be the secret of his hot and well trained looks. (*)
But this was also about promoting Danish commerce, not least in the view of the major rebuilding, which is going to take place in Japan. Alternative energy was among the main topics and this is an area where Denmark has a considerable know how. That doesn’t mean the Japanese are behind in that respect, oh no! Frederik went for a test ride in a prototype of an electrical car at Nissan. (**)
The visit ended with a reception at the Danish embassy, where resident Danes had a chance to meet Frederik.
Our reporter noted that a number of giggling teenagers took pictures of Frederik and a couple of female journalists confided to him: “He is very handsome”.
Our man in Japan interviewed Frederik on the train back from Higashi Matsushima. More on that in the next post.
(*) Og ikke et sæde var tørt…. They’ve sure been drooling!
(**) Here in DK there is a 300 % tax on new cars and what is even more idiotic, environmentally sound cars are no cheaper. Result: we drive in older and more polluting cars. Why doesn’t the current right wing government cut down on taxes on cars? And why is there no danger the next left wing government will cut down taxes, I can hear you ask? Because it’s a great money machine! Those of us who live in rural or semi-rural parts of the country (and that means outside the eight or so major cities/towns) have to have a car, so there is no need to cut taxes!
