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  Japan PM's reading blunders spark study spree
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ContributorRBH 
Last EditedRBH  Mar 05, 2009 03:12am
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News DateWednesday, March 4, 2009 09:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionReading Japanese isn't easy — even for the Japanese.

Take Prime Minister Taro Aso. He's made so many public blunders that an opposition lawmaker tried to give him a reading test during a televised session of parliament.

The Japanese leader bungled the word for "frequent," calling Japan-China exchanges "cumbersome" instead. Another time, he misread the word "toshu" (follow), saying "fushu" — or stench — and sounded as if he were saying government policy "stinks."

While the media and Aso's political rivals have been quick to heap ridicule, many Japanese have seen a bit more of themselves in Aso's goofs than they would like to admit. Since his missteps, books designed to improve reading ability have become all the rage.
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