Zomahoun Idossou Rufin
Zomahoun Idossou Rufin (born June 15, 1964), popularly known as Zomahon (ゾマホン), is a Beninese foreign personality (gaijin tarento and diplomat) in Japan.
Zomahoun was born in Dassa-Zoumé, Dahomey (the old name of Benin until 1975). He attended National University of Benin and Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China. Since 1996, he has been a student at Sophia University in Tokyo, where he is completing a Ph.D. in sociology. He can speak Yoruba, Fon, French, English, Mandarin and Japanese.
In 1998, Zomahoun was "discovered" by a TBS executive and became a cast member of Koko ga hen da yo, nihonjin (ここがヘンだよ日本人 This is what's strange about Japanese people!). 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 "Speak slowly!" (ゆっくり話しなさい！, Yukkuri hanashinasai!) at him. He was one of the show's leading stars until its end in 2002. With the help of host Takeshi Kitano, 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 reality show, when the traveling group arrived in Benin.
In December 2011, the Cabinet of Benin accredited him as Ambassador to Japan[1].
[edit] Award
[edit] External links
- Official website:(Japanese),(English)
[edit] References
- ^ ゾマホンさん、駐日ベナン大使に YOMIURI ONLINE. Retrieved on 2011-12-18.
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