Two giant kiwifruit swaying to a solemn violin score have stolen the show at an event for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who touched down in Japan on Thursday.
The clip of the two kiwifruit 'mascots', one golden and one green, dancing in a room full of men in suits drew widespread attention on social media, with one video receiving three million views.
“I feel like the kiwifruit have gatecrashed a funeral,” one Twitter user wrote, noting the disconnect between the music and the mascots.
"This is the greatest day of my life," Henry Cooke, a political reporter at Stuff New Zealand said on Twitter.
It was not the first time Ms Arden met the anthropomorphic kiwifruit, with a photo resurfacing on Twitter of the leader holding their hands in 2019.
The event in Tokyo was hosted by New Zealand kiwifruit exporter Zespri and also saw the prime minister try her hand at calligraphy, writing the word "kiwi".
As well as promoting kiwifruit exports - worth $NZ750 million ($685 million) to New Zealand in Japan alone - Ms Ardern announced a car-sharing scheme for the New Zealand capital Auckland that would utilise hydrogen fuel cell-powered Toyota Mirai, which are built in Japan.
The trip to Japan was the first foreign trip for the prime minister in more than two years, with the leader seeking to strengthen business and tourism ties with the country after pandemic-induced border closures.
Ms Ardern met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday night, which comes in the backdrop of China's security pact with Solomon Islands.
Ms Ardern labelled the pact "gravely concerning," urging Solomon Islands to turn to the Pacific for its security needs rather than Beijing.
New Zealand and Japan agreed to increase their security and political ties, Ms Arden said in a statement.
“Japan is one of New Zealand’s closest and most important partners in the Indo-Pacific region," Ms Ardern said.
“The global strategic environment is volatile and we face unprecedented challenges.
"Japan and New Zealand will work together to support economic recovery from COVID-19, combat climate change, promote peace and stability in our region and uphold the global rules-based order.”
