Philip Patrick

The Japanese are battening down the hatches – again – as typhoon Shanshan wreaks devastation to the south-west of the country, with worse, possibly much worse, to come for the rest of us further north. Millions of people have been told to flee their homes in the face of what officials are calling one of the strongest storms ever to hit the region. Shanshan may even prove to one of the strongest typhoons in Japanese history – which is some boast.  It is shaping up to be something close to the perfect storm in terms of its power and unpredictability Four people have died so far with 94 injured, but those figures will increase greatly as the hours pass. An ultra-rare ‘special warning’ has been issued in some regions by the meteorological agency.

‘Kanko kankai’ (tourism pollution) is the latest buzz phrase here in Japan as the double-edged samurai sword of the visitor boom continues to cause profit but also pain. The latest problem, along with the overcrowding, poor behaviour, and squeezed out locals, is a shortage of staff at the main attractions and the hotels and restaurants that surround them. Which, given the importance of quality service in Japanese culture, is a veritable crisis. Healthcare, distribution and agriculture are all facing, to varying degrees, serious issues due to a lack of manpower There is nothing especially new in this. Labour shortages have long been a problem as the society ages, the fertility rate remains low and the pool of fit young people shrinks.

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida has announced he will be stepping down as leader of the Liberal Democratic party next month. This means yet another new leader, the 13th in my quarter century in the country (unless one of the previous incumbents fancies another go) but almost certainly not a radical new direction.  Whoever wins the LDP leadership election will become prime minister, as the party controls both houses of parliament, though no general election need be held until 2025. The announcement has been declared a ‘surprise’, but in truth, the resignation of a Japanese premier is never really that much of a surprise.

Sadiq Khan has suggested that the long rumoured prospect of Premier League fixtures being played in the United States is now inevitable. Khan, a Liverpool supporter (largely an armchair one), told the Sports Agents podcast that he believes a stateside ‘international round’ of Premier League fixtures, similar to the NFL and NBL games played in London, was ‘the way things were going’: ‘They (the big clubs) have big fans in America. Why can’t those fans see a competitive game?... All 32 NFL teams have played in London, all of them have had a great experience. We have some of the top baseball teams playing in London’, Khan explained.

Portugal squeezed through to the Euros quarter finals last night after a penalty shoot-out victory against plucky Slovenia. Or perhaps I should say Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal squeezed through, as whatever Roberto Martinez’s team does and however much or little their 39-year-old talisman contributes, the story always seems to be about him. The Beeb used to be fair-minded and respectful, even of the game’s rascals This time it was a tale of two penalties – one missed in normal time and one scored in the shootout. A flood of tears from Ronaldo followed the former and made it seem as if the living legend was having an on-field breakdown – though he soon recovered.

Thailand has just passed a ‘landmark’ marriage equality bill, which will pave the way for the recognition of same-sex unions in the Land of Smiles. The upper house in Bangkok comfortably approved the measure on Tuesday, and as soon as King Maha Vajiralongkorn signs it off Thailand will become the first Southeast Asian jurisdiction to formally legalise gay marriage. Equality campaigners in Japan will be watching these developments closely. With a general election expected before November and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s scandal-wracked Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) administration under considerable pressure, advocates for same sex marriage in the one G7 country that still denies it, will have hopes that, following the Thai precedent, the issue will feature prominently.

The Tokyo metropolitan government has announced that it will soon be in the online matchmaking business. It is launching a dating app, which will hopefully appear in the summer, its latest attempt to get people to do their duty to the nation by finding a partner, getting married and procreating ASAP. The rules of the app will be a bit stricter than most commercial equivalents – you will be required to submit documentation establishing you are single and sign a pledge stating that you are willing to get married. It’s not Tinder. You’ll also need to attend an interview and provide a tax slip to indicate your salary.

‘There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine’.  This is a quote from the novel Butter by Japanese writer Asako Yuzuki, which was published in translation last month to great acclaim. It’s billed as ‘a novel of food and murder’, inspired by the true story of a gourmet chef/serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case. It sounds gruesome but has plenty of descriptions of ‘scrumptious food’ apparently. I’m tempted to give it a go. What is it about these oriental offerings that has bookworms so enthralled? As are many others it seems. Butter is just the latest in a string of Japanese novels claiming prime display space in UK bookshops.