TOKYO – US President Donald Trump sparked a feeding frenzy on social media on Monday (Nov 6) when he was photographed dumping a box of fish food into a pond of koi carp during his trip to Japan.

Trump and his Japanese host Shinzo Abe began by delicately spooning out the food into the pond to the waiting koi, which had been rounded up by a clapping Japanese aide. The US leader apparently lost patience with this method and upended his entire wooden box into the pond.

The incident caused outrage among fish lovers on Twitter, with many pointing out that fish cannot absorb a large amount of food at a time.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, standing just behind Trump, appeared to break out in laughter at his boss’s no-nonsense approach to koi feeding.

But some uncharitable Twitter users were less forgiving, with several writing: “Trump can’t even feed fish right.”

A tour boat carrying 16 Chinese tourists and several Thais sunk off Phang Nga Bay on Sunday morning, as a mechanical issue was being repaired and large waves capsized the vessel, said Ao Phang Nga National Park chief Sarayuth Tansathien.

A 29-year-old Chinese tourist sustained bruises on her chest and arms while the rest of the passengers were rescued without suffering injuries.

Thai tourist Narumon Jayor, 19, said the boat’s engine suddenly stopped near Koh Raya and boat crew members were repairing it in mid-sea when large waves hit the boat.

The tourists were wearing life jackets and officials responding to the incident rescued them.

Sarayuth said authorities had warned people about strong winds and waves in the Andaman Sea and urged fishing trawlers and tour boats to exercise caution.

TOKYO – US President Donald Trump greeted Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Monday with a genteel handshake and nod, but no bow, avoiding the pitfall of US President Barack Obama who was criticised at home for his deep bow to the monarch.

Trump, wearing a suit and tie and his wife, Melania, in a long, dark blue dress, were met at the palace entrance by the royal couple, who were both wearing suits.

Trump smiled, shook hands and nodded at the 83-year-old emperor before greeting Michiko as well. The four entered the palace where they chatted through interpreters in footage aired live on television, but without sound as is customary.

After the meeting, Trump shook hands again, and tapped the emperor’s arm repeatedly with his left hand. “Thank you for the great meeting”, he told Akihito. “I’m sure we will meet again”.

Obama came under fire after meeting the emperor in Tokyo in 2009 for what his critics back home said was bowing too low to Akihito. Some US commentators said the US president should not lower his head before foreign monarchs.

Akihito has spent much of his reign working to heal the wounds of World War II, which was waged across Asia in his father’s name, Emperor Hirohito.

Obama also faced criticism from a different quarter – etiquette experts – who noted he combined a bow with an handshake, which is not done in Japan traditionally, whether meeting the emperor or anyone else.

Japanese guests are not supposed to touch the royal couple or shake hands, but foreign guests often do.

Hillary Clinton shook hands and air-kissed the empress on both cheeks, then took her hand as they entered the palace when she met the royal pair as secretary of state in 2011, a month or so after the triple disasters of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown hit northeastern Japan in March of that year.

Traditionalists say that Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne dates back more than 2,000 years. Akihito was the first royal heir in the Japanese imperial family to marry a commoner — a symbol of Japan’s new modernity and confidence.

Japan earlier this year enacted a law clearing the way for Akihito, to step down, clearing the way for the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries and the accession of his son, Crown Prince Naruhito in late 2018 early 2019.

Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito, was considered divine until after Japan’s defeat in World War Two. The current emperor is defined by the constitution as a symbol of the people, and has no political authority although he is widely respected.

For Danny ‘The King’ Kingad, his upcoming bout at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD on 10 November in Manila offers a golden opportunity.

The 22-year-old Filipino will step into the ONE Championship cage for the fourth time, but this time will be different – the ONE Flyweight World Championship will be up for grabs.

“This has been my dream for such a long time,” he explained ahead of the contest. “All the opponents I have faced, even early in my career, have brought me to this moment. It is my biggest match ever.

“All my experience has led me to this. It is the next step in my time as a professional. Every athlete dreams of becoming a world champion, and now I have the opportunity.”

That opportunity seems a world apart from his humble beginnings as the youngest of five children in Manila’s Baguio City. 

Money was tight, and Kingad’s parents had to work hard to scrape together a living and keep a roof over their children’s heads.

“I grew up with a poor family, and it certainly was not easy growing up,” remembers Kingad. “There was not always enough food when your family could not find work.”

Kingad’s rough childhood got even tougher when tragedy struck and his father passed away. Kingad was just 8 years old at the time.

“Losing my father was very difficult, because I cannot see him anymore,” he said. “I get some of my motivation from the stories my mom tells me about my dad. My dad and I were very close when he was alive.

“I am very grateful that I still have my mom, and we are very close.”

Following the loss of his father, Kingad moved in with his older brother and discovered the striking art of wushu.

“I really like how the art of wushu pushes you to discipline yourself,” he said. “I desired to learn more about the techniques of wushu and to learn more about myself, as well.

“I needed discipline, because before wushu, my friends encouraged me to go to parties and drink alcohol.”

Kingad’s wushu skills saw him join the University of Cordilleras, where under the guidance of Mark Sangiao, he took the 2015 Regional Wushu Champtionship.

It was there that he heard about ONE Championship, and with his competitive spirit fired by the thought of competing in the cage, he joined Sangiao’s Team Lakay with the aim of becoming a champion under the bright lights of ONE.

“I used wushu to help me with my discipline, and I am now training in other martial arts, because it is a big motivation for me,” said Kingad. “I saw some of the seniors at school competing, and they are champions now. I wanted to become a champion too.”

Now, Kingad stands on the edge of that achievement, as he prepares to take on defending ONE Flyweight World Champion Brazilian Adriano Moraes for the title on 10 November in his home country of the Philippines in Manila.

While he has high hopes for his martial arts career, Kingad’s main aim is to provide for those who helped keep him on the straight and narrow as a youngster.

“The biggest hope I have for the future is to help my family,” he admitted. “I want to get closer to God and help my friends and family who are suffering.

“I also want to help my brother as a way to pay him back for the support he has given me.”

Kingad knows that he faces the toughest test of his martial arts career when he steps into the cage to face Moraes, a seasoned world champion with twice the experience of the young Filipino.

While he has a relative lack of cage time compared to the champion, Kingad still has landmark moments in his career he can draw from if he finds himself in a difficult predicament during the contest.

“Muhammad Aiman gave me my toughest test. I honestly thought he had me at one point,” recalled Kingad, who was close to being submitted by a triangle choke in his most recent outing. 

“I just stayed calm and remembered what we practiced in training, and I was able to escape and survive. It was a learning experience for me and an eye-opener.

“I know Moraes will be 100 times as skilful on the ground, so I cannot get caught in a situation like that.”

Kingad went on to earn a unanimous decision victory to set up his title tilt at Moraes in Manila.

It’s a title shot he wasn’t expecting to receive so early in his martial arts career, but an athlete doesn’t get to choose the timetable of their career. Now that his chance has arrived, he’s ready to grasp it with both hands.

“I did not think it would come so soon, but I am here now, and I have to face this whether I am ready or not,” he said. “Some of the greatest world champions in sports faced their biggest challenges far before they were ready, and it brought out the best in them.

“I live for these ‘dare to be great’ situations, and I will bring my best to the cage on 10 November. Whatever happens, I will leave it all in there, and give the performance of a lifetime.

“Moraes and I are going to war, and I’m stepping onto the battlefield as a soldier of destiny.”

For newly-crowned ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen, family is never too far from his mind.

The Vietnamese-Australian star returns to action at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, when he challenges Eduard Folayang for his ONE Lightweight World Title in Manila.

Despite the high stakes and the chance to make ONE Championship history, Nguyen will be thinking of his family first when he steps into the cage.

“My kids are my inspiration to make it somewhere in life, and set them up so they do not have to worry about a thing in their lives,” he explained. “And my wife Brooke is my other inspiration. 

“For the amount of support she has shown me throughout my whole career, and how strong she is as an individual, it motivates me to become a better version of myself.”

Nguyen says his wife helped him settle down and become a responsible, well-adjusted adult after years as something of a wild child.

His family instilled strong family values into Nguyen, but he was still a mischievous youngster, who often found himself in trouble. But all that changed when he met his future wife Brooke just before his 17th birthday.

“I went shopping with my mates and we were going around the shopping centre, and there she was on her lunch break,” he recalls. “She was walking around with her friends when she saw me.

“They ended up chasing us down because they knew another one of the guys in our group. But she got my number through my mate because she was too shy to talk to me, and we kicked it off from there.”

Brooke’s influence gradually calmed down Nguyen’s wild ways, as she pushed him to bring the very best out of himself.

Then, the final piece of the jigsaw fell into place in May 2009, when Nguyen became a father for the first time with the birth of his son.

“It made me realise I had to step up as the man of the family,” he explained. “We stopped going out, and everything was about our child.

“At first, I was all about my mates and going out was the thing. We thought we were invincible. “But then she [Brooke] became the sole person I had to look after, and my son did as well. It made me become a man.”

The pair got married in April 2010, then added to their family with the arrival of two baby girls. During that time, Nguyen took up martial arts and started training at KMA Top Team.

Nguyen soon progressed his martial arts from a fitness workout to competitive training, and he embarked on an unplanned and unexpected martial arts journey that took him all the way to a world championship.

Nguyen had to play his cards close to his chest early on, keeping his competitive double-life secret from his disapproving wife.

“I had to trick her,” he smiled. “I told her I was going to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition. I said, ‘You can stay home if you want, I will grapple and I will have my coach with me.’”

Nguyen went on to win the cage tournament, leaving him little option but to confess and suffer the wrath of his wife. But she soon got used to her husband’s competitive journey, and even began attending tournaments and watching him succeed.

“We realised the next step was going professional, and she came around to it,” he said. “She came to watch my first bout, and has been supporting me ever since.”

Brooke has since become something of a lucky charm for Nguyen’s career. She’s been present at cageside for all of his bouts in ONE Championship, including his stunning knockout of Marat Gafurov at ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as he captured the ONE Featherweight World Championship in August.

Now, with his family offering both backing and inspiration, and with a world title belt already in his possession, he’s ready to step up and challenge Folayang for the lightweight belt.

If he’s successful, he’ll become the first two-weight world champion in ONE Championship history.

“If I can inspire my little ones in any way through martial arts, and they pick up martial arts, then it is going to make them disciplined and better people,” he said.

With a world champion as their father, that’s surely all the inspiration they need.