Zomahoun Idossou Rufin (born June 15, 1964), popularly known as Zomahon (ゾマホン), is a

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

ese foreign personality (''

gaijin tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "ta ...

'' and diplomat) in Japan. He is currently the Ambassador of the Republic of

to Japan and the former Special Advisor of the President of the Republic of Benin

Thomas Boni Yayi Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presidential election and was re-elected to a second term in March 2011. He also s ...

. Zomahoun was born in

Dassa-Zoumé Dassa-Zoumé, also known as Igbo Idaasha or simply Dassa, is a city in central Benin, on the Cotonou-to-Parakou railway and the main north-south highway. It is the capital of Collines Department. The commune covers an area of , and as of 2013 had ...

, Dahomey (the old name of Benin until 1975). He attended National University of Benin and

Beijing Language and Culture University } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. Until 2006, he was a student at

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, where his coursework completed without a degree of

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. He can speak

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

, Fon, English, French, Mandarin and Japanese. In 1998, Zomahoun was "discovered" by a TBS executive and became a cast member on the TV show '' Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin''. In a pool of 100 foreigners voicing their displeasure about certain aspects of Japanese society, he was usually picked due to his hyperactive Japanese speech, causing him to trip over his words and prompting the celebrity panel to yell at him to speak more slowly. He was one of the show's leading stars until its end in 2002. With the help of host

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

, Zomahoun built four schools in Benin, two of which are named after Kitano (Takeshi Elementary School and Takeshi Japanese School). Additionally, he won a People's Honor Award in Benin in 2002. In 2008, he participated in a few episodes (403-406) of

Ainori , literally "Ride together", or "Car pool" but can also be read as "love ride", is a popular television program that runs Monday evenings from 11 pm in Japan on Fuji TV. It debuted on October 11, 1999. The show originally ended on March 23, 2009 ...

reality show, when the traveling group arrived in Benin. In December 2011, the Cabinet of Benin accredited him as Ambassador to Japan.ゾマホンさん、駐日ベナン大使に
YOMIURI ONLINE. Retrieved on 2011-12-18.

Awards

*The World Highest Young Men's Award ( JCI) (2001) *People's Honor Award (in Benin) (2002)

References

External links

* 1964 births Rufin, Zomahoun Idosson Ambassadors of Benin to Japan Sophia University alumni {{Japan-bio-stub