Wife of Japanese prime minister visits Chapel Hill High School to meet with students

“She was so wonderful,” Chapel Hill High School Japanese teacher Yoshimi Aoyagi said. “Mrs. Kishida is so kind and so nice.”

Aoyagi’s class prepared a slide show for Kishida about what they’re learning about Japanese culture.

“Thank you very much for showing the presentation,” Kishida said. “I know that you are studying Japanese very hard.”

The prime minister and his wife landed Thursday at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after a state visit with President Joe Biden.

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Chapel Hill High School students got to practice their Japanese language skills in asking Yuko Kishida about her favorite foods, favorite parts about Japan and what sports she likes to play.

Yuko Kishida’s favorite food is the okonomiyak, the Japanese savory pancake. She also likes Japanese pop music. She also talked about growing up in the mountainous area of Hiroshima with mountains, rivers and nature.

Aoyagi says this was a once in a lifetime experience for her and her class.

“This is like we just got the like eclipse this Monday, but this is more than that,” Aoyagi said.

“For me, this experience was extraordinarily special knowing that a person from my home country is in my other country, the United States,” junior Kyle Agano said.

Agano wanted his class to make a great impression on Yuko Kishida, and he feels they just did that.

“Japanese is alive and well, and I hope that this moment not only encourages people in North Carolina and our community in our school, but it also encourages people around the United States and the world to continue and keeping this culture alive,” Agano said.

“Once you master Japanese, that will deepen understanding of the Japanese culture, and it will lead to the interaction with the Japanese people, and it also leads to the connection to the world,” an interpreter said for Kishida.

Yuko Kishida was also taken to the Duke Gardens for one of her favorite past times, a private Japanese tea ceremony.