Shibutanis to attend state dinner in Washington for Prime Minister of Japan | Golden Skate

Shibutanis to attend state dinner in Washington for Prime Minister of Japan

I wonder whether they will be solicited to take up their Japanese citizenship and skate dance for Japan? Alex Hideo Shibutani will have to make his decision relatively soon? His birthday was April 25, 1991, so I believe next year is his date. Maia's Japanese name is Harumi.
 
dorispulaski said:
I wonder whether they will be solicited to take up their Japanese citizenship and skate dance for Japan? Alex Hideo Shibutani will have to make his decision relatively soon? His birthday was April 25, 1991, so I believe next year is his date. Maia's Japanese name is Harumi.
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I don't see them asking at State Dinner where they were invited by Hillary Clinton. That seems to be in poor taste. That said, I'm sure seeds for the ask could be planted.

And that said, I doubt they would take the offer. While Alex and Maia are quite proud of their Japanese heritage, they fully embrace representing the U.S. Also, they don't have much to gain by going to Japan. Yes, they could be No. 1 in Japan, but I'm not sure how that would help them as far as placement....
 
Awww I love the Shibs and what an honor for them. HC could not have chosen better.
Thanks for the info!
 
I am so happy for the Shibutanis to receive this wonderful invitation!
Someone in the State Department must be a figure skating fan.
Lysacek recently became a Sports Envoy, and now Alex Hideo and Maia Harumi are getting this well-deserved recognition.

Maia's latest tweet is:
"So excited to be in DC for Secretary Clinton's dinner in honor of Japanese Prime Minister Noda. Leaving for the reception in a few minutes!"
(As an aside, I wonder whether she consciously is referring to it now as Secretary Clinton's dinner -- as opposed to a "state dinner", which I believe was an innocent misnomer.)
 
I don't see them jumping ship either. The only possible gain they would have is a possibility, somewhat remote, of winning gold in the Team event at the Olympics. Skating for Japan might be a sure ticket to Sochi, but the Shibs' position as US #2 pretty much guarantees that anyway.

There are several disadvantages to a switch, including losing a minimum of a year's competition (which can be deadly in Ice Dance) and, of course, Alex surrendering his US citizenship. And as Mrs. P pointed out, being #2 in the US dance powerhouse is significantly better than being #1 in Japan, who never sends out any dance team but the mediocre Reeds.
 
What a huge and well-deserved honor for the Shibs!

And I seriously doubt the Shibs will switch. It would be a huge change for them, for little to no tactical reason. And missing out on a year of competition is probably an absolute deal breaker.
 
golden411 said:
Someone in the State Department must be a figure skating fan.
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Michelle Kwan works for the U.S. State Department. :) She is all into the national fitness programs championed by first lady Michelle Obama.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OuB0rRedq...MEA/hDxonPzNgE4/s1600/Michelle+South+Lawn.jpg

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/gallery/2011/05/09/s110409-09firstlady-pg-horizontal.JPG

(In case you were wondering, President Barack Obama made one out if eight shots from the three-point arc at this event. No word on Michelle's score. :) )

Coincidentally, Lysacek got his appointment as sport envoy just after he switched to Michelle's agent, Shep Goldberg. :laugh:
 
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Mathman said:
Michelle Kwan works for the U.S. State Department. :) She is all into the national fitness programs championed by first lady Michelle Obama. ...

Coincidentally, Lysacek got his appointment as sport envoy just after he switched to Michelle's agent, Shep Goldberg. :laugh:
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I had not forgotten Kwan; purposely had not mentioned her, because Karen Hughes brought her into the State Department back during the George W. Bush administration.
I was surmising that an Obama political appointee at State might be a figure skating fan. :)
OTOH, maybe the fan is a career diplomat, given your good point about the agent shared by Kwan and Lysacek.

An excerpt from Sec. Clinton's remarks at last night's dinner for the Japanese PM:
"That’s why we are working to create opportunities for the young people in both of our countries. Our shared goal is to promote a tomodachi or friendship generation of young people who will be our future leaders. That’s why we have created a private-public partnership, the TOMODACHI Initiative, to bring young people from both countries together. We are looking forward to receiving hundreds of young Japanese students and sending hundreds of young American students, through student exchanges, sports programs, and entrepreneurial programs."
 
Mathman said:
Maybe it's Secretary Clinton herself. Here she is with the South Korean foreign minister praising Yu-na Kim's Olympic performance. :yes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMyrb9Hxkjo
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Thanks to your clip, Mathman, I'm now having visions of HRC as President of the ISU down the road. [Never say never. ;)]

I hope that the Shibutanis will not keep us waiting too long before they share more about their evening with the Secretary and the PM. The little details from Virtue and Moir after they dined with the Queen gave us a vicarious sense of their once-in-a-lifetime experience.
 
^ Thank you! I had to look Patrick Cronin up, but evidently he is a major policy wonk, specializing in defense strategies on the Pacific rim. Here is a white paper he wrote last month about the military and economic challenges faced by the U.S.A.-Japan alliance to keep a rising China in check.

http://www.cnas.org/cronin

Alex and Maia were probably assigned to his table. (I hope no one will think they are spies if they get Cup of China and NHK next season. :) )
 
Mathman, thanks for the scoop on Mr. Cronin. Very cool for the Shibs to meet such a heavy hitter.

And from the Japanese delegation, they made a distinguished new Twitter friend: the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs/Director of Global Communications at Prime Minister's Office of Japan.

Alex Shibutani @AlexShibutani
"@norishikata Thank you for introducing yourself to @MaiaShibutani and me at the dinner for PM Noda. It was very nice meeting you!"

Noriyuki SHIKATA @norishikata
‏Great to see you at the dinner hosted by Sec. Clinton for PM Noda! I wish you both all the best! See you! RT @AlexShibutani @MaiaShibutani​
 
In all seriousness, you never know what kind of opportunities might open up. What if some of these big government people decide they need a pair of charming, bright young people for some kind of goodwill outing?

Let's see now, who could we tap...

Noriyuki Shikata is somewhat well known in the U.S. as the principle spokesperson for the Japanese government during the tsunami/earthquake crises, at least in terms of keeping western news sources appraised of the developing situation.
 
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Mathman said:
In all seriousness, you never know what kind of opportunities might open up. What if some of these big government people decide they need a pair of charming, bright young people for some kind of goodwill outing?

Let's see now, who could we tap...

Noriyuki Shikata is somewhat well known in the U.S. as the principle spokesperson for the Japanese government during the tsunami/earthquake crises, at least in terms of keeping western news sources appraised of the developing situation.
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Yes, yes, I agree 100% that forming relationships at these levels could lead to additional exciting and important roles for the Shibs -- both during and after their on-ice career. I certainly hope so. Each of them would be an asset to any position, whether related to skating or otherwise. (And we'll be able to say that we "knew" them when ...)

Mathman, thanks also for giving the context of Shikata's responsibilities last year. The connection had escaped me.
I'm impressed that he is the one who introduced himself to the Shibs, and not the other way around. :thumbsup:
 
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