Philip Patrick

The sudden absence of colour then, even on something as mundane as a packet of potato crisps, is disturbing.

The conflict in Iran is having serious knock-on effects around the world, from cancelled flights as jet fuel supplies run short to fears about the food supply as fertiliser prices increase.

Japan is not the crime free paradise it is sometimes, rather patronizingly, depicted as.

Japanese cities can disappoint. Visitors stroll around hoping to be awe-struck by the dreamy spectacle of clip-clopping Geisha in their wooden geita, or barreling sumo wrestlers, or high-stockinged ninja girls (à la Kill Bill), and all against a Blade Runner backdrop, only to be confronted with mostly unremitting blandness. The constants are these: concrete, plastic, more concrete, more plastic, endless construction (one crappy shopping complex or mansion block replacing another), confusion, and noise.

Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has approved a bill that will make it illegal to desecrate the national flag — known as the “ Hinomaru ”. When the bill is passed, anyone caught in the act, or documenting someone else doing so, could face a two-year prison sentence or a 200,000 yen fine. The LDP hopes to enact the bill in the current parliamentary session ending 17 July.

Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has approved a bill that will make it illegal to desecrate the national flag — known as the “Hinomaru”. When the bill is passed, anyone caught in the act, or documenting someone else doing so, could face a two-year prison sentence or a 200,000 yen fine. The [...]Read More...

It was all smiles for the press when Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi visited Keir Starmer at No. 10 on Sunday for trade and security talks.

It was all smiles for the press when Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi visited Keir Starmer at No. 10 on Sunday for trade and security talks. But how friendly it all was behind the scenes is another question. Doubts have been growing about the...

One of the joys of living in Japan is the lack of wokeness. It is not that it doesn’t exist – there is a Tokyo Pride, the odd Gaza protest, and gender equality is increasingly discussed – it’s simply that the concept doesn’t quite translate. Like the...

One of the joys of living in Japan is the lack of wokeness. It is not that it doesn't exist – there is a Tokyo Pride, the odd Gaza protest, and