【Summer reading】Mr. Yabatan - Big in Japan
[Summer reading] Mr. Yabatan - Big in Japan
Claude has also released his own “Mr. Yabatan” merchandise
In 2017, the Norwegian, Claude Bonde (28), moved to Japan to make business out of his talent for humor and comedy. Today he's known as "Mr. Yabatan", and has become a popular man on the internet among the Japanese residents. He is a big fan of the cooperation between Norway and Japan, and has therefore been willing to tell his story to NCCJ’s members.
His story begins in Groruddalen, Norway, back in the days when he worked at an online store, already then full of creative ideas. These ideas would only see the light of day on stage at his theater school’s productions. Later he got smaller jobs for the Norwegian newspaper, VGTV, and radio station, P3.
Claude has always been interested in Japan. In 2012 he decided to travel to Japan, and got even more obsessed with the country’s culture. He then decided to move there only three months after arrival to Norway (2013). This time to learn the language in a Japanese school.
After a year in Japan, Claude moved back to Norway, still with his creative ideas in mind. He started making videos in Norway on his own, but always knew that he could reach a bigger audience if he was could be in Japan, making the videos there in a Japanese environment. Thus, in 2017, Claude moved back to Japan to make his comedy dreams come true. After auditioning for some foreign-talent roles a few times, he realized it wasn't too easy to achieve his career breakthrough as an actor. He needed money, and his destiny turned out to be similar to that of so many gaikokujins before him; becoming an english teacher.
Claude did not give up on his comedy dreams, and in December 2017, one of his videos went viral in Japan. For the first time his phone was buzzing constantly due to the great reception his video received from Japanese and overseas users. Since 2017 his amount of followers has grown to 465k on Instagram, and to the total amount of 2,5M on all his platforms.
Claude is often recognised on the street. Photo: Frederic Aranda
Today he is working full-time as a comedian in Japan. He is a popular face among many of the big companies in Japan, and has already worked for companies like Disney, Sony, Toyota and Asahi. His work assignments for these companies were mostly related to marketing and TV-appearances.
A day in the life of the Norwegian comedian normally includes several meetings with clients, editing videos, and setting up a plan for his future content. In between all this, he needs to find time to be creative, and come up with new ideas. No doubt Claude is a busy man.
On a question concerning the difference between the Norwegian and Japanese working culture, he starts by saying that he loves the seriousness in the Japanese culture and society. He thinks that the key to success in Japanese business is all the small details, and punctuality - something Norway can learn from. What he really thinks is funny is the way Japanese people can go from a straight and serious mood to break out in laughter in just a second. After all, Claude is a comedian, and it can be hard to stay serious when some of his characters come to the surface.
Claude is really cheering for more cooperation between Norway and Japan. He believes that Norway has a long way to go in comparison to the other Nordic countries, like Sweden and Finland. He considers the NCCJ to be a great stimulation to the business between our two countries. He has already personally cooperated with the other Nordic countries, but not Norway. That's something he wants to change in the future.
Claude has many TV-appearances, and has also worked three years for NHK World
If one of NCCJ's members reaches out to him with an assignment, we're positive he will say yes. Or as Mr. Yabatan would have said;
「びっくりした！」.