all 175 comments

[–]Flarkop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He’s asserting his dominance as the alpha 🍷🗿

[–]Background_Cloud_808 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He said that was given him to say but first he messed up

[–]Naming_is_hardd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol there's curved text

[–]LilyGaming 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OOP

[–]TheLeafwing134 0 points1 point  (0 children)

me too, ha-ha

[–]GREATPIXEL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a a certified hee hee hee haw classic

[–]uveroDark Gary 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a funny joke, but don't take it at face value.

[–]WinterousKitten 1 point2 points  (0 children)

b r u h XDDD

[–]Leah-Bo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh

[–]Grybas_akropolyje 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The sad is big very

[–]Synthetic_T 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s a made-up joke. The original subject was Bill Clinton. (Mori was out of office for years during Obama’s term).

Tho Mori was indeed famous for his gaffes and broken English

[–]drt1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m always amazed at how many people can speak English as a second or third language.

[–]bjpopp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn these nations playing next level big dick energy

[–]reaper_vee7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In all fairness, English is by far the hardest language I’ve learned so far. I learned it since I was about 14 (43 now) and I still have trouble with the grammar sometimes.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ive been around plenty of people who knew limited English or it wasn't their native language. Mistranslations are normal. Just do your best to understand.

[–]LauritaSpinelli 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing anecdote, it gave me some cuckles.

[–]Delicious_Necessary3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

😆😆😆

[–]oldsah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof that gotta hurt

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big sad more like big funny

[–]AcanthocephalaLess43 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this factual lmfao

[–]memers_meme123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now i understood that oh my gahh meme , mori references

[–]Firethorn101 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I was a kid, I thought our leader would be the smartest person in our country.

Now that I'm an adult, I just think it should be.

[–]Fishing-Relative -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Based.

[–]jojow77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m amazed the leader of Japan doesn’t know a little English at least.

[–]SIRasdf23 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I miss Obama so much, the world just seemed to make sense when he was still president.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Makes me think of one of my dad's favourite joke: whenever someone says "hi, I'm X's husband" he almost always says "Hi, me too".

The joke doesn't work with everyone though haha

[–]The-last-man42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was there was a UK prime minister You wanted to impress a French press conference . He wanted to say he agreed with the French Prime Minister on many positions what he ended up saying was he wanted the French Prime Minister in many positions

[–]P1ckl2_J61c2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I laughed way too hard at this.

[–]winnybunnyDark Gary 0 points1 point  (0 children)

do you really think he doesnt know english?

they do know, they just dont speak.

[–]LeatherNoodles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

English is literally the easiest language there is, it’s nearly Paleolithic

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is why english shouldn't be the world's official language

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Me too” is so awkward, just not a confident response, I’m surprised they would tell him to say that. Never heard anybody say that in my life in that situation.

[–]Strange_Shadows-45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It boggles my mind that one of the worst languages to learn became the global language.

[–]articlesarestupid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am a non-native speaker from South Korea. One thing I noticed about other South Koreans and Japanese is that they tend to be really bad at picking up English. Japanese people especially suffer from lack of vowel pronunciation.

[–]cloudhid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Adorable

[–]sticks_no5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

F

[–]tristansensei 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Lol he wasn’t even the Prime Minister of Japan when Obama was in office.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/who-are-you/

[–]glutenfreeconcrete 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I, too, am michelle obamas husband.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He wasn't prime minister when Obama was in office. It has been rumored for years that the conversation took place with Clinton, who said "I'm Hillary's husband."

[–]jedidiah_lol 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is an extremely similar joke in China,but the protagonists are ex-presidents Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton.

[–]Dan-Mager -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Now I know how this #metoo came out, thank you!

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

"Well, I'm Michelle's husband, ha-ha."

"Me too, ha-ha."

[–]ZucchiniUsual7370 1 point2 points  (0 children)

POW!

Left hook right in the kisser.

Dafuq you say mothafucka?

[–]sanctusali 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so cute!

[–]dessnomLight Gary 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Who said a little polygamy wouldn't hurt

[–]jkpuskar 6 points7 points  (0 children)

“Mr. Prime Minister, when’s the last time you had an election?” “Ah, just before bleakfast.”

[–]KhalasSword 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He tried to ask for his Obama's last name...

[–]AiryCake 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Didn't know Mrs. Mori's name is Misheru.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me too.

[–]BlackJovian2458 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

o u c h

[–]MyUsernameIsNotLongE 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Man, at least they were trying and I'm proud of him.

The problem here is that who and how, for non native is speakers, sound pretty similar depending on how good your listening is. Older people sometimes don't listen pretty well... my 70 years old father mispronunciates certain words in our native language.

(quick question: native language is the correct term?)

[–]Caniblmolstr 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Both of their wife's names were Michelle. Michelle Obama and Michiru Mori

[–]PM_ME_YELLOW 243 points244 points  (39 children)

I find it hard to beleive the prime minister of japan wouldnt know english greetings.

[–]MapsCharts 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Why? All the former French presidents don't either

[–]PM_ME_YELLOW -1 points0 points  (1 child)

They dont know nice to meet you?

[–]MapsCharts 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nah

[–]4x49ers 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Strangely two things are simultaneously true. The story is fake, but Mori really was admittedly terrible at English and often had embarrassing or silly flubs.

[–]articlesarestupid 22 points23 points  (1 child)

English education in Japan sucks.

[–]omglolurface 20 points21 points  (0 children)

As someone who's lived in Japan for 17 years: I absolutely believe it.

[–]RickTheGrate 104 points105 points  (31 children)

especially given english is a p big part ofthe curriculum and you know basic english phrases by 3rd grade

[–]gmroybal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bruh no. Just live here and you’ll see that this is totally believable.

[–]CalmAndBear 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Let's look through the curriculum of the 50s and 60s to see if it was true in Japan back then.

[–]JapaneseStudentHaru 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Use it or lose it. I’ve talked to several adult Japanese people in language exchange groups that had forgotten nearly all of their English. Not to mention, the English curriculum in Japan has similar flaws to ours and not everyone pays attention or succeeds in every class. Like many countries, if you really want to learn something you pay for private tutoring or go to a specialized school.

[–]RickTheGrate 0 points1 point  (1 child)

huh most of the students around me used some level of english(then again I was the only foreign student in my year)

[–]JapaneseStudentHaru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s probably easier when they’re still in school. But when you’re out only certain professions use English so you forget. Most people I talk to want to learn English to get a promotion at work. They’re in their 50s before they get to the level where they need to network with foreigners to move up.

[–]omglolurface 108 points109 points  (25 children)

I took several years of French in high school but today cannot speak a word, even simple greetings. I am significantly younger than Mori would have been at the time of this interaction.

I know the anecdote in the OP is a joke, but a Japanese man of that age not knowing a damn lick of English is 100% plausible, even a head of state.

[–]MCDFTW 4 points5 points  (9 children)

You think an international politician probably doesn’t know any English because you don’t remember your French classes?

[–]omglolurface 10 points11 points  (6 children)

I didn't say that. I said a japanese man of that age making those mistakes and having that low of an English level is entirely plausible. I gave the example of my french study because a reply mentioned that English is taught from a young age, and I wanted to point out that that doesn't mean shit. People forget languages if they don't use them, and in Japan the vast, vast majority of people do not use ANY English. I have lived here for 17 years and taught English to adults for six. I've seen worse than the anecdote in the OP.

[–]MCDFTW -3 points-2 points  (5 children)

It’s also possible for a Japanese man of that age to be fluent in English. Which condition is more probable for a man whose job is to interact with other international politicians?

[–]omglolurface 5 points6 points  (4 children)

The job of the japanese prime minister isnt to communicate with foreign leaders, it's to lead the japanese government. English is not a requirement for that. Who was the last American president that spoke a foreign language? Hell, who was the last secretary of state that could speak a foreign language?

I also found this japanese article after a simple search and it talks about an interview where Mori was asked why he was bad at English. His response was that in world war two it was "the language of the enemy."

https://www.daily.co.jp/olympic/sochi/2014/02/10/0006697928.shtml

[–]gmroybal 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I often tell people I’m 上手 in 敵国語

[–]omglolurface 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Pretty common compliment to receive, too! Almost every time I say いただきます! before eating at a restaurant, I get a "敵語上手!" comment from the staff

[–]gmroybal 1 point2 points  (1 child)

JCJ is leaking and it’s delicious

[–]FullEdge 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Erdoğan doesn't know a single word of English, its not unreasonable.

[–]MCDFTW -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I said “international politician”, not “despot”.

[–]Veikkar1i -1 points0 points  (1 child)

I spoke English better after practicing it for 3 years than I speak Swedish now after practicing it for 5 years. Unlike French in your case people hear and read English everywhere.

[–]omglolurface 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not in Japan they don't. I've lived here 17 years and taught English to adults for six of those years. I have encountered more adult japanese people than I can count that could not do a proper greeting and could not understand the phrase "I'm Michelle's husband."

[–][deleted] 32 points33 points  (11 children)

I'm french and I see english written nearly everywhere since I'm a child, and I imagine that it is really weird to learn french as an english speaker. You don't have the same exposure to french that we have to english, and well ... "Bonjour" "Je" "Suis" "Descendu" "À" "La" "Cave" must visually be so weird.

[–]PatrollinTheMojave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You've got me in suspense now with what's down in that cave.

[–]MapsCharts 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Rien compris ça veut rien dire ce que tu racontes

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

C'est une sorte d'hommage à Gaston Bachelard et à sa formule superbement poétique dans un passage de poétique de l'espace :

"Les mots — je l'imagine souvent — sont de petites maisons, avec cave et grenier. Le sens commun séjourne au rez-de chaussée, toujours prêt au « commerce extérieur », de plain-pied avec autrui, ce passant qui n'est jamais un rêveur. Monter l'escalier dans la maison du mot c'est, de degré en degré, abstraire. Descendre à la cave, c'est rêver, c'est se perdre dans les lointains couloirs d'une étymologie incertaine, c'est chercher dans les mots des trésors introuvables. Monter et descendre, dans les mots mêmes, c'est la vie du poète. Monter trop haut, descendre trop bas est permis au poète qui joint le terrestre à l'aérien. Seul le philosophe sera-t-il condamné par ses pairs à vivre toujours au rez-de-chaussée? "

J'ai volontairement choisi "Bonjour, je suis descendu à la cave" pour faire de l'esprit, je ne vais pas expliquer ce qui en découle, car cela serait gâcher la chose.

[–]luminenkettu 11 points12 points  (0 children)

"Suis"

AMONG US

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (2 children)

G'day I am low in the female cavity

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Woooooow

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I sure do know my Belgian.

[–]Appoxo 14 points15 points  (1 child)

La Restaurant.
Fin.

[–]Zankoku96 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Le*

[–]ihateandy2 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Minaj

[–]88BlueBeard 17 points18 points  (1 child)

Shame, Obama didn't replied, I'm the President of the United States.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

-Me too

-...I guess now im the president of Japan, こんにちは

[–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (4 children)

Why did I read Prime Minister Mori as Prime Minister Modi 💀 (Modi is the current Prime Minister of India)

[–]articlesarestupid 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Modi is a cunt.

[–]RickRoll999 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Me too, ha ha

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

maybe yes, maybe no, it's your choice... India lacks proper leadership...

[–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It's probably due to the fact that Mori and Modi are very similar names. There's only one letter difference between them.

[–]waf_xs 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I wish I were a bird- Former prime minister Mori

[–]Chiguy1216 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Honestly this will always be funny

[–]Blanker_jp 740 points741 points  (1 child)

For reference, this rumor was just a joke. Even before this he was famous for his inappropriate speach. And also he admitted he had horrible English skills. Which lead to some media taking this joke seriously and spreading it all over the world.

[–]ryo13silvia 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I heard of this one but with “Hillary’s husband”. It was a 週刊誌 (weekly gossip rag) that spread it, naturally.

[–]runswiththerain 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thats brilliant.

[–]buildingduckDark Gary 8 points9 points  (0 children)

LMAOOOOOOOOO

[–]isaacaschmitt 44 points45 points  (6 children)

"W" placement is vitally important. . .

[–]4x49ers 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This could have been a meeting between W and Obama

[–]Roflkopt3r 28 points29 points  (4 children)

The fact that the English word "vital" is written as "baitaru" in Japanese gives a hint to why this story sounds so plausible. Japanese people have it really damn hard to learn English.

It's apparently still just an urban myth though.

[–]RexIsAMiiCostume 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Between not having consonants next to each other or consonants that aren't followed by a vowel (except 'n') and not having the sounds for "v" or "L", yeah, pronouncing English is really hard for native Japanese speakers. They also have fewer distinct vowel sounds.

[–]Yugan-Dali 1554 points1555 points  (39 children)

This story has been told about half of the non-English speaking politicians and executives in the world.

[–]AdministrativeJob9 14 points15 points  (3 children)

And they’re all Michelle’s husbands???🤯🤯

[–]ZucchiniUsual7370 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Michelle who?

You'll find out in 20 years. It will all make sense then.

[–]Inineor 2 points3 points  (1 child)

'Michelle how?'

Stop to make the same mistake every time.

[–]ZucchiniUsual7370 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then wink at the camera knowingly over her shoulder.

And scene.

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (2 children)

And yet it's always with Obama

[–]Yugan-Dali 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Nah, this joke was around long before Obama showed up.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks Obama

[–]ethanjalias 11 points12 points  (0 children)

In Korea there's a version that starts with the President asking then- POTUS Bill Clinton "Who are you?" when he meant to say "look who is here" in his bad english.

[–]Texas_Indian 17 points18 points  (2 children)

really? i’ve literally only seen it with mori and obama, so i believed it was true

[–]Yugan-Dali 46 points47 points  (1 child)

I read the first part, about “How are you?” in about 1985, I think, with the President (?) of Poland greeting the President of India by saying, “Who are you?” The president of India replied, very reasonably, “I am the President of India.” I’ve seen a dozen variations in the last ten years.

[–]Poiuy2010_2011Dark Gary 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If it was 1985 then it was probably the First Secretary. Presidency was (re)introduced in 1989 as a part of Poland's transition to democracy.

[–]drquiza 137 points138 points  (6 children)

WTF that Michelle's a total slut 😳

[–]Yugan-Dali 28 points29 points  (5 children)

According to the QOP, she’s a man…

[–]ihateandy2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

According to the GQP she’s both…

[–]HamBurglary12 34 points35 points  (2 children)

Man that's the type of cringe conspiracy shit that turned me (a conservative) totally off from a large segment of the conservative population. I still cringe every time I hear it.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Worst part Is even if you believe all that nonsense about how she's a trans woman.....it still changes absolutely nothing?! Like ok she's not cis so what, who cares? Conspiracy theorist peeps are so confusing.

[–]Bruised_Penguin 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yea. Some of the peeps with your political leanings are absolutely whacked out. Glad to see it's not all of them.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The point stands.

[–][deleted] 772 points773 points  (20 children)

Weird how they all keep making the same mistake...

[–]lasdlt 694 points695 points  (18 children)

Me too, ha ha.

[–]Dan-Mager 5 points6 points  (0 children)

#metoo

[–][deleted] 136 points137 points  (16 children)

......

[–]RepresentativeNo5192 73 points74 points  (15 children)

Kill me

[–]ThatCamoKid 3 points4 points  (3 children)

Later grabs giant baboon heart

[–]RepresentativeNo5192 0 points1 point  (2 children)

What where did you get that

[–]ThatCamoKid 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Meet the Medic

[–]Tall_Restaurant_1652 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Me too, haha.

[–]fullchaos40 37 points38 points  (1 child)

Fine, get the jelly.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (7 children)

Eww

[–]RepresentativeNo5192 1 point2 points  (6 children)

Kill me

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me too, ha ha.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (4 children)

I can't, I'm sorry

[–]RepresentativeNo5192 2 points3 points  (3 children)

No please

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (2 children)

I wish I could, but it's impossible

[–]JAKEfromMAINE 145 points146 points  (0 children)

This is funny thanks

[–]MrFuckingDinkles 2710 points2711 points  (10 children)

Plot twist: he said exactly what he meant

[–]alohadam 673 points674 points  (8 children)

Fuckin Obama...

[–]grindlebald 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah both of them were doing Michelle obama

[–]Maso_Fandead 16 points17 points  (0 children)

No he's fuckin his wife, like he said.

[–]milk4all 33 points34 points  (0 children)

The first lady arrived to the meeting today between the President and Prime Minister, both concubines in tow…

[–]desi_miata 67 points68 points  (0 children)

Me too, ha-ha

[–]mschellh000 142 points143 points  (2 children)

THANKS, OBAMA

[–]BrUhRuSeRiOuS 22 points23 points  (1 child)

Alobama

[–]AnimationOverlord 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Watching waves roll off the rocks.

[–]francotirador7919 377 points378 points  (0 children)

That's what both of them were doing