In Tokyo last month to ease concerns about Brexit and advance UK interests globally, the Business 20 delegation came armed with some facts about the British economy that may have surprised—and comforted—many of us. Here are a few:
- Employment and exports at record high
- Foreign direct investment up 40%
- UK still fintech capital of the world
- Rising female participation
- 75% of young people want to be entrepreneurs
For a full report see our coverage of the B20’s two days of meetings with senior Japanese leaders.
Nikko—special offer
BCCJ ACUMEN has a very special offer for our readers. For just ¥19,800 per person—including transport, hotel, food and excursion—you can enjoy Nikko’s historic British Embassy Villa, Lake Chuzenji and more in the surrounding area of natural beauty and luxury accommodation in Nikko for less than half price.
Wrong question
According to the Rugby Football Union, participation in women’s rugby is growing rapidly in England with 100,000 females expected to be involved in the sport within a few years.
Our BCCJ Event report this month tackles the subject with a dream team of experts from many fields. Among the panellists’ tasks was to destroy a few myths about the game. Questions from the audience were strongly encouraged but, thankfully, no-one asked any that the BBC recently revealed to be the most common, irritating and stupid ones to put to women rugby players.
Here they are:
- Is it OK to tackle in women’s rugby?
- Do you wear breast protection or padding?
- Do other players pull your hair?
- Do you play on a full-size pitch?
- Do you use a full-size ball?
- Are you all lesbians?
Hostage justice
We got an instant and record number of reactions to our piece about Hostage Justice of the March issue. All respondents referred to their personal and unpleasant experiences of Japan’s “Kafkaesque” criminal or civil justice systems and we hope to feature at least one of the cases soon.
Pints and pies
If you’d like to experience what many observers on social media claim offers the most authentic British-Irish food and public house in Tokyo, you are warmly welcome to visit a recently opened hostelry near Nishi-Ogikubo station. Mine hosts Maki and David Carmichael pulled the first pint in mid-March and have already drawn a regular crowd of locals and expats alike, especially for its pie signature dishes. The Hole in the Wall is located at Nishi-Ogikita 3-41-11, Suginami-ku, Tokyo (tel: 03-6338-3209) and can be found on Facebook.