President Barack Obama's speeches are proving a best-seller in Japan -- as an aid to learning English.

An English-language textbook, "The Speeches of Barack Obama," has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months, a big hit in a country where few hit novels sell more than a million copies a year.

Japanese have a fervor¹ for learning English and many bookstores have a corner dedicated² to dozens of journals in the language, many of them now featuring the new U.S. leader's face.

"Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English, because their contents are good and their words are easy to catch," said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.

"Obama's is especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorize," he said.

Speeches by George W. Bush and former nominee³ John Kerry's four years ago did not have the same appeal, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians, Yamamoto said.

"In Japan, we don't have politicians who have such a positive influence. That's why we have to turn to a foreign president for someone in whom to place our hopes."

The 95-page paperback⁴ features Obama's speeches in English from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. They are accompanied by Japanese translations.

The 1,050 yen⁵ ($12) book, which includes a CD of the speeches, tops the bestseller list on bookseller Amazon's Japanese Website, http://www.amazon.co.jp/

"Readers have sent in postcards saying that when they heard the speeches, they were so moved and cried even though they don't understand English very well," Yamamoto said.

He said lawmakers from Japan's main opposition⁶ Democratic Party had bought the book to study Obama's speeches.

Following Obama's inauguration⁷ on Tuesday, Asahi Press plans to issue a sequel that includes his inaugural⁸ address, as well as President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech. It will also feature a reading of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address of 1863.

美国新任总统奥巴马的演讲集作为英语学习资料深受青睐，成为日本的最畅销图书。

一本名为《奥巴马演讲集》的英语教科书在短短两个月内售出40多万册，成为日本书市上的最畅销图书。在日本很少有畅销书的年销量突破100万册。

日本人学英语热情高涨，很多书店都设有专门的英文图书专区，而现在很多上架销售的英文书都是关于奥巴马的。

《奥巴马演讲集》出版商日本朝日出版社的山本友三说：“总统及总统候选人的演讲可以作为非常好的英语学习听力材料，不仅内容好而且容易听懂。”

他说：“奥巴马的演说尤其如此。不仅非常感人，而且所用的 ‘是的，我们能行’、‘变革’和‘希望’等词语甚至都能为日本民众记住。”

但他说，乔治•Ｗ•布什和前总统候选人约翰•克里在四年前的演说可没有如此的吸引力。日本政治家的演讲也不怎么吸引人。

“日本没有能产生如此影响力的政治家。所以我们不得不把希望寄托于一个外国首脑身上。“

这本平装版英文演讲集共95页，其中收录了奥巴马自2004年民主党全国代表大会至民主党党内初选战胜希拉里•克林顿期间的演讲，所有演讲都配有日文翻译。

演讲集附有一张光盘，每套售价1050日元（合12美元）。目前这本书高居日本亚马逊网上书城http://www.amazon.co.jp/畅销榜榜首。

山本友三说：“读者寄来明信片说，他们听了演讲后，感动得流下了热泪——尽管他们不能完全听懂英文。”

他称日本最大反对党、民主党的立法委员也买了这本书学习奥巴马的演讲。

随着奥巴马本周二就任美国总统，朝日出版社计划再出版一本续集，增录他的就职演说、前总统约翰•F•肯尼迪1961年的就职演说、以及前总统亚伯拉罕•林肯1863年的葛底斯堡演讲。