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Political editor Audrey Young blogs from Parliament
Tokyo diary: 6.15pm
4:15PM Wednesday October 28, 2009
Audrey Young is with John Key reporting on his visit to Tokyo
The Imperial Palace was not as I imagined - at least the part where Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko reside. It was very simple, stylish. All in all a very 60s palace.
There was just the official palace photographer and myself to capture the meeting of the Keys and their Majesties in the reception room. Everyone bowed when they entered the room so I did too (to the Emperor, not John Key).
I was listed as the official New Zealand photographer. I don't think the palace liason officer had ever had an official photographer with a cheap Sony Cybershot before. He was not impressed. But the pictures came out well and I will try to post them later.
The palace is set in beautiful gardens and the ancient buildings are open to the public. Tokyo itself in the Ginza part of town is quite lovely, not at all as I remember it when I last visited in 1985 as a guest of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper - circulation has fallen from 13 million to 11 million!
I was chaperoning a couple of New Zealand teenagers to the 40th anniversary ceremonies of the Hiroshima and Ngasaki bombings . We didn't see much of Tokyo then, because the pollution was prevalent. Today it is warm and clear and you can see blue sky.
I went to John Key's hotel suite after the palace to talk to him about the visit. He has a whole floor of the Imperial to himself - and his suite has a grand piano (the Japanese taxpayer is footing the bill on this one).
The ambassador, the head of the Dept of Prime Minister and Cabinet Maarten Wevers and others were meeting at a long table at the other end of the suite, no doubt on the PM's meeting with PM Hatoyama tomorrow.
Hatoyama made his first big speech in the Diet on Monday, repeating much of what he said in his party's manifesto and at the United Nations six days after taking office - taking power away from the bureaucratic elite who have run the country, giving women big financial incentives to give birth, cutting tolls on motorways and a lot of other big spending items for a country with public debt of around 180 per cent of gdp.
The Yomiuri Shimbun was not impressed: "Japan faces many pressing issues, including overcoming the economic downturn and uncertainty over employment, reconstruction of the nation's finances and how to cope with the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile developments.
"Given this harsh reality, we hope Hatoyama will clarify in a concrete manner during Diet deliberations basic national strategies to realise his political philosophy and how these policies should be prioritised".
Next assignment is to the Blessing of the Big Ball at the bottom of Tokyo Tower.
* * *
2:15pm: John Key and his wife Bronagh are getting ready to call on the Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace.
I am allowed in for the meet and greet so long as I don't throw any questions their way. As if.
I arrived in Tokyo last night on the same flight as Jonah Lomu and Bronagh. Jonah will be up here for the Bledisloe.
If Steven Joyce has any hesitation about the electrification of Auckland rail he should come to Tokyo. The Narita Express from the airport to the city was unbelievably civilized. New clean seats, news reports on television screen and ads for an electric shaver you can use in the shower.
Martin Snedden and John Kirwan have just come into the hotel foyer and the embassy officials are now giving me the hurry up to get into the car for the palace.
Comments
Re -Bernaddettek comments about Our First Lady and what she wears on Offical occaisions. I have given what she wrote some thought. First reacation was to write some derogatory remarks about Bernaddettek cruel words However, that is not my way of doing things.
BernadetteK either:
1. dislkes our first lady and wants to embarrass and humiliate her in Public
2. has snobbish ideals
3. Is jealous or envious that our First Lady looks very attractive no matter what she wears.
The photos I have seen of her accompaning the PM on more than a dozen occaisons, she looks naturally, very attractive.
Thank you Cindy! I'm glad someone gets it. Is expecting our first lady to not dress like a small-town school principal too much to ask? I actually thought it was quite hilarious that I was being accused of tall poppy syndrome by other posters! I think that's a term not too unlike "PC" that gets thrown around by dum-dums who don't actually know the correct context to use it in.
Mark off Mt Albert, I don't think Bernadette's frank comments have anything to do with the tall poppy syndrome. That's a very convenient excuse. She's rightly pointing out that for a first lady, Mrs Key, and by the way I voted National, needs to clean her act up and fix herself up.
She looks very dowdy yet I doubt that she dresses dowdy when he's not at official functions. She is quite stylish when she's away from the camera, maybe it's intentional her dressing down for her official duties. She has the money and the means to do so but I wonder if her dowdy dress standard when she's on official duties is intentional. If you look at that photo of her on Audrey's blog, that makes my point.
All I'm saying is that she needs style tips if she is genuinely clueless on official couture for a first lady. Tell her to see Michelle Obama. Now there's a class act.
Oh heavens, it seems the Forum Fidos are out in force. Evidently most of you (and the moderator) didn't get my point so, like Hastings in a Poirot tale, I'm going to have to explain it very slowly for the simpletons.
This visit to Japan and the reporting on it has zero political relevance until something to do with policy actually happens. Hence, I decided to make a comment that was equally as frivolous.
Now, if we want to return to the grooming of the Keys (or lack, thereof), I find it typical and amusing of Kayways (said in my best tacky accent) to rally around the noble national habit of defending ugly and badly groomed NZ women as being "natural" and eschewing surgical enhancement.
Mrs Key is not a tall poppy. She is a rich housewife from Parnell who clearly still dresses like she's from Christchurch. Yes, you heard me right. Do you know who ARE tall poppies, Mark? The wise and highly trained expats who now live overseas contributing to countries that aren't, like NZ, crumbling into another Pacific Island nation over the coming 20 years thanks to short-sighted policies advocated by both sides of the political spectrum. Do we all understand now? *pats heads of grouchy posters*
I work about 200 yards down the street from the palace, I missed seeing our fearless leader but I couldn't miss the extreme right-wing nationalist parading up and down in front of the government offices. I asked one if their cars are all black to show support to Richie McCaw's lads but the nice bloke I queried was unable to confirm or deny.
http:/www.stippy.com/wp/wp-content/zuploads/2007/03/nat3.jpg
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