Japanese media are criticized for their lack of interest in the sport of tennis.
Rising tennis player Naomi Osaka made headlines earlier this month after winning her first-ever Grand Slam title against the venerable Serena Williams. She became a big celebrity in Japan because she is half Japanese, and even has sparked controversy over what it means to be Japanese.
This “Naomi boom,” as some journalists call it, has Japanese reporters lining up for the chance to interview and photograph her during her recent trip to Japan, where she competed in the Pan Pacific Open. But the poor quality of their questions has embarrassed some Japanese netizens, as the reporters are clearly not very interested in Osaka’s tennis career.
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Shortly after arriving in Japan, fresh off her US Open victory, Osaka participated in the above press conference and photoshoot, and while some of the questions asked at that moment were serious inquiries about her tennis career, many were unrelated personal questions. especially about his stay in Japan.
“What are you going to eat while you’re here?” was one question, and “I know you’ll be busy, but is there anything you’d like to do in Japan?” Another even asked, “What kind of Instagram photos are you planning on taking while you’re here?”
These questions may seem harmless, but there is a major problem: They seemed completely unaware of the monumental achievements Osaka won the US Open and focused entirely on her stay in Japan.
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Throughout the above interview Osaka doesn’t seem necessarily frustrated Japanese netizens were clearly interested. They clearly wanted to know more about Osaka’s experience at the US Open, but reporters wasted valuable time asking mundane questions like “What’s your favorite Japanese word?”
This isn’t the only time the Japanese media have embarrassed themselves. After Osaka lost to Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Pan Pacific Open on September 23, she found herself once again surrounded by the Japanese press. Unlike the previous interview, this one, which was much shorter, actually contained a number of questions about the match. But the very last question seemed to surprise even the usually laid-back Osaka: “During your busy schedule, what do you do to relax?”
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“Is that really what you want to ask as your last question?” question?” she replied. “Really? I’ll answer it, but are you sure?” She replied, but it wasn’t a very enthusiastic response, and it was clear that she didn’t think much of the question. Wasting the last question at a critical and emotional time for her on a trivial topic must have seemed ridiculous. At least, that’s how Japanese netizens felt, as they openly criticized both interviews:
“Osaka just said what everyone wanted to say. I hope the media learns from this.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it because the journalists don’t know anything about tennis. Sorry for the stupid journalists in Japan.”
“It’s just proof that Japanese journalists are of poor quality.”
“That’s about the quality level of most Japanese journalists, Naomi-chan.”
“The quality of the questions is terrible. They are just looking for content for gossip shows.”
“I am always painfully aware of how pathetic the Japanese media is when I watch press conferences.”
“The questions asked in Naomi Osaka’s interview are so bad I can’t watch it anymore.”
“I feel so bad for Naomi Osaka. I’m so embarrassed by the Japanese media.”
Certainly, the kind of personal life anecdotes requested by Japanese journalists, and especially those asked of foreign celebrities about their favorite parts of Japanese culture, are the kind of questions many Japanese people like to ask foreigners themselves. But many netizens made it clear that they would have liked the journalists to take the opportunity to talk tennis with Osaka, a rising star in the tennis world.
Source: Yahoo! News, YouTube/Asahi Shinbunsha via Hachima Kiko
Featured Image: Instagram/naomiosakatanis
