A retired Japanese-American teacher at Punahou School in Hawaii thought that U.S. President Barack Obama, one of her past students, would do just fine on his first visit to Japan on Friday.
Betty Morioka, 72, who taught when Obama was in the sixth grade, said she believed his Japan visit will prove a success, as he has done his "homework" to prepare.
Recalling Obama's boyhood and showing photos from those days, Morioka said he was a "charming" youth whom it was easy to forgive when he got up to mischief.
Morioka, who lives in Honolulu, also said Punahou has long sought to open its doors to different ethnic groups, but Obama was the only black American when he entered the school in the 1970s.
"That's why he was speaking out," Morioka said, noting the young Barack preferred to be called "Barry."