Japan and Tonga have developed a bond based on an unusual combination — the abacus and rugby.
Sinali Latu, 47, is the product of that unique relationship, which began with the visit in 1976 of a top Japanese abacus teacher to Tonga, whose national sport is rugby.
Teacher Toshio Nakano, who graduated from Tokyo's Daito Bunka University, where he captained the rugby team, introduced Japanese abacus techniques to Tonga's king on his trip to the Polynesian country. Intrigued by the device, the king began sending rugby players to Nakano's university in 1980 so they could study the abacus.