Reuters reports that a book called The Speeches of Barack Obama is a huge surprise hit in Japan where people are using it to help them learn English.
Japanese have a fervour for learning English and many bookstores have a corner dedicated to dozens of journals in the language, many of them now featuring the new U.S. leader's face.
"Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English, because their contents are good and their words are easy to catch," said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.
"Obama's is especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorise," he said.
Speeches by President George W. Bush and former nominee John Kerry's four years ago did not have the same appeal, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians, Yamamoto said.
The book includes Japanese translations of the speeches and a CD of the speeches. It has been topping the bestseller lists at Amazon.com.jp. The listing can be found here on Amazon.com.
Reuters 
