Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, and opposition leader Yukio Edano, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, have a one-on-one debate during a Diet session on June 9. (Koichi Ueda)

"A letter came from Shiroyagi-san (White Goat)/ But Kuroyagi-san (Black Goat) ate the letter without reading it."

"Yagi-san Yubin" (Goats' Letters), a poem by Michio Mado (1909-2014), is about letters that are exchanged between a white goat and a black goat but are never read by either party.

Last month, the newly minted expression "yagi-san toben" (literally, goat's response) went viral on social media.

The source of inspiration, apparently, was Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who muddled through a Diet session during which he was asked, "Are you going ahead with the Olympics?"

The question was rephrased every time it was repeated, but Suga's answer never varied. He stuck to this mantra: "I will continue to protect the lives and health of the Japanese people."

His obvious lack of interest in paying attention to the questions themselves reminded Mitsuko Uenishi, a professor at Hosei University, of the goats in Mado's poem who eat the letters without reading them.

She described Suga's attitude as "like from 'Yagi-san Yubin'," and this apparently evolved into yagi-san toben.

And Suga unfortunately was unable to hide his "yagi-san disposition" during his first Diet party leaders' debate as the prime minister. He never answered even the most critical question, which was, "What are your reasons for holding the Olympics even at the risk of endangering the lives of citizens?"

But he waxed unexpectedly eloquent as he reminisced about the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

"I was in high school at the time," he said, and talked fondly of the Japanese women's volleyball team nicknamed "Toyo no Majo" (Oriental Witches) and the iconic Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila (1932-1973).

"My memories are still vivid," Suga boasted. Well, what can I say?

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell famously stated that a true leader should speak what the listener must hear. In his book "It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership," which Suga claims is his favorite, Powell liberally offers his philosophy of speech, refined over his years in the U.S. Army and at the Congress.

I wonder what practical use Suga has made of it in his day-to-day life.

With 43 days remaining until the Tokyo Olympics, only less than 4 percent of the Japanese population have had two vaccine shots.

We have run out of time to wait for "goats' letters" that are never going to be read.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 10

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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