Beyond Protocol: Japanese Gen-Z and Yogi’s Selfie

A Japanese student’s selfie with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlights growing ties between Yamanashi and Uttar Pradesh with student exchanges, cultural understanding, technology, skills and youth engagement emerging as key areas of future cooperation between Japan and India.

New Delhi: In politics, images sometimes speak louder than statements. Stages, microphones, memorandums and agreements all have their own limitations. But a spontaneous smile, a student’s selfie and a moment captured standing beside the Chief Minister can convey an entirely different message. Such a scene unfolded in Lucknow today. A Japanese student from Yamanashi Prefecture took a selfie with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Yogi smiled too. There was no burden of formality and no sense of distance associated with power.

The Tricolour stood in the background, portraits of national leaders adorned the walls, and at the centre was the symbol of faith, ‘Shri Ram.’ In front stood a Japanese student alongside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. This was more than just a photograph. It was a miniature portrait of a new kind of diplomacy.

A delegation from Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture, led by Governor Kotaro Nagasaki, arrived in Lucknow. Japanese students accompanied the delegation, while students from Lucknow also became part of the........

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