For Christmas this year, the US consulates in Japan decided to spread some holiday cheer with a festive, albeit silly, video—and it’s been a hit in the country.
Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Japan and daughter to late US president John F. Kennedy, dressed up as Santa Claus and performed the iconic dance in the opening credits of the popular Japanese show We Married as a Job. The staff from the Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Naha consulates joined her in the homage to Koi, the show’s theme song.
The video, first released by the Tokyo embassy on Dec. 20, has racked up more than 3 million views. But it was originally intended for internal sharing, according to US embassy spokeswoman Marrie Schaefer.
“This is the holiday season and we try to do something nice and light, and we try to be merry, like Merry Christmas,” she told local newspaper Japan Times on Dec. 21.
People are feeling the holiday spirit. “This smartly fits the Japanese taste. The same performance might not be appreciated in another country like France,” commented Yufei Zhou on Japan Times’s Facebook post.