It’s not every day that the leader of the free world goes on the record to express his knowledge and love for some of Japan’s most revered past times.

Ok, maybe the POTUS isn’t into anime or manga, but he did publicly thank Japan for their manga, anime, karaoke, karate, and last but not least – those emojis. He also touched upon the peace alliance that has existed between the United States and Japan since the 1960s. Featured above, you can view a shortened video of his talk (via Mashable).

Obama also made a note in pointing out that Japan is now celebrating their Golden Week, a long-standing tradition where natives will spend time with their families, while also observing several key holidays in the country. You can find the full transcript of Obama’s talk here, via the White House.

It kind of makes me sad that Obama didn’t mention video games once – although we live in an age now where video games are a worldly endeavor, while they may have originally got that worldwide audience in the first place, thanks to the Japanese.