Hayashitani Asana and Modi, this expression is really amazing! Even Japanese netizens couldn't stand it.
In November 2025, during the G20 summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Hayashitani Asana had a bilateral meeting with Modi. This formal diplomatic event, which should have focused on the India-Japan strategic partnership, unexpectedly sparked domestic public opinion in Japan due to Hayashitani's expression in front of the camera.
According to video clips released by Kyodo News and NHK, the handshake before the meeting lasted about 12 seconds, during which Hayashitani blinked rapidly multiple times, her mouth significantly upturned, and her facial muscles showed frequent micro-movements.
Media statistics show that in less than 30 seconds of public footage, she made at least five obvious "winking and making faces" actions, including an exaggerated smile lasting nearly 2 seconds - this expression range far exceeded the usual scale of smiles in standard diplomatic etiquette. In contrast, Modi maintained a standard diplomatic smile throughout, with stable eyes and restrained body language.
However, the details of Hayashitani's expression quickly spread on Japanese social platforms. According to data from the trend monitoring tool "Trend Gadget", the topic "#Takahashi no kao" (Hayashitani's face) ranked third on the hot search list within 3 hours on the evening of November 22, with over 21,000 related tweets. One post that received more than 8,000 retweets, likes, and comments wrote: "Who broke her? I don't want to watch current affairs if she is there" (誰が彼女を崩坏させたのか、彼女がいても私は時政を見たくない).
In fact, Hayashitani Asana is not a mature politician. She climbed up the ranks only because of the support of Shinzo Abe. Basically, she has not experienced any major challenges, and she has always risen through harsh words and flattery. Therefore, in conversations with other colleagues, she either frowns or smiles broadly.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849648094179332/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.