Stanford Business

AUGUST 2006


Bulgarian Haiku

The life of an ambassador is an unpredictable one. In his first two years as Japan’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Koichiro Fukui, MBA ’76, completed the implementation of reciprocal, visa-free travel between the two nations, discussed bilateral environmental protection with Bulgaria’s environment minister, and suggested the Bulgarian government encourage private as well as governmental Japanese investment. He also played chess against Bulgaria’s world champion Veselin Topalov, drank from a newly excavated, 2,300-year-old Thracian wine vessel, and threw a welcome party for delegates to the World Haiku Conference in Sofia.

Bulgaria is the first diplomatic post for Fukui, who formerly was an executive with the telecommunications company KDDI and the Development Bank of Japan. By his own account, he is still learning the job—and he is finding that cultural exchange works in both directions.

Not long ago, Fukui told Stanford Business, the young Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kaloyan Mahlyanov moved to Japan. Koto-oshuu, as he is known in Japan, became extremely popular. “He is not only strong but handsome,” Fukui said. “In addition, Japanese people feel he represents old Japanese virtues such as diligence, politeness, and respect for parents. When he made a short visit back to Bulgaria, I hosted a reception for him and his parents and elder brother at my residence. At the reception, the Bulgarian foreign minister asked Koto-oshuu, ‘What is sumo?’ He answered, ‘Sumo is tradition and philosophy.’ What an elegant answer in describing a rough fighting sport! I asked myself, ‘Has the time come when Japanese are taught traditional Japanese virtue by a big boy from Bulgaria?’”