What Snubbing Reveals, Friendship Restores: Norway and Japan (II of II)

Both of these controversial Norwegian ad campaigns struggle with the symbols of nationhood. The misappropriation of the Japanese flag in the image of a sanitary napkin and the misuse of Norwegian lefse by a Japanese traveler are images in dialogue with one another over the cross-cultural negotiation of meaning. Both convey the impression of trying to understand and honor the other culture – in the first case by paying tribute to the host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, and in the second by demonstrating a desire to learn about the culinary habits of the Norwegian. Both are examples of the struggle with ambiguous meanings and the foreign familiarity of the other; sharing so much in common but existing worlds apart.

In March of 2001, Norway and Japan put these images behind them when Norwegian King Harald and Queen Sonja paid a visit to their Japanese counterparts in Tokyo. Relations soon turned awkward when then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori snubbed the royal couple by begging out of a banquet, blaming a bad back, and instead dining with a colleague in Tokyo’s nightclub district.

According to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbin, "Not attending an event for a state guest attended by both the Emperor and the Empress is probably unprecedented." The imperial family journalist elaborated by saying that, "I think the King of Norway will find this rude when he discovers the truth, and just as rude to the Emperor and Empress. He has put a smudge on the Imperial Family's diplomatic history." (Source: CNN)

The Prime Minister’s actions were largely interpreted as a slight, not only to the constitutional monarchy of Norway, where the King and Queen are beloved as national symbols, but also to Japan’s own royal family. Mori defended his actions by claiming that he had simply tried to avoid insult because the pain in his back would have forced him to change position frequently and thus disturb the emperor who would be seated nearby.

The incident was nevertheless downplayed by Norwegian press, which looked to Mori’s rather generous history of political gaffes for explanation, thereby separating his actions from those of the Japanese government. Coverage, in fact, tended to focus on the negative response of the Japanese public and other government officials, rather than provide any commentary from the Norwegian public.

Both the misguided ad campaigns and the skipped banquet episode represented fault lines in the friendship being forged between Norway and Japan. Had the desire for friendship between the two nations been less robust or the foundation of commonalities been less stable, then certainly the incidents could have escalated into a strong conflict under the public eye. After all, the public manipulation of national symbols is a powerful thing (remember US-France relations when the term Freedom Fries was elected to replace French Fries?).

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