Two large mascots, dancing to sorrowful music, helped welcome the New Zealand prime minister on her first trip overseas since the pandemic began
The surreal scene generated amusement on social media. “I feel like the kiwifruit have gatecrashed a funeral,” one commenter on Twitter said. “So beautiful,” said another.It was “especially touching when the music got sadder, and the mascots’ dancing changed with it,” said Stuff chief political reporter Henry Cooke, who filmed the performance. He said the mascots were part of an event by Zespri, New Zealand’s kiwifruit export monopoly, rather than a formal Japanese government welcome.
At the event in Tokyo, Ardern said her grandparents used to grow kiwifruit. “This is very literally the fruit of Kiwis,” she said, according to news website Stuff.as part of her first overseas trip since the pandemic began. Earlier this week she visited Singapore. During her visit to Tokyo she discussed defence with prime minister Fumio Kishida.
Japan is a significant market for New Zealand’s kiwifruit, taking around $600m worth of exports. The event marked the start of the year’s kiwifruit sale season in Japan. The mascots are known as the “kiwi brothers”. New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern meets with her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan in Tokyo.Members of Japan’s community of more than 1,000 mascots are put to use in myriad roles, from promoting tourist spots and regional cuisine to encouraging people to pay their taxes and join the self-defence forces.she had a particular affection for the kiwi brothers, whom she had previously encountered on a 2019 visit to Japan.
“The kiwi brothers I particularly remember,” she said. “While they thankfully didn’t make me dance, they did hold my hand.”
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