Politics »

  • Japan

    January 15, 2009 @ 6:45 pm | by Harry McGee

    It’s now 17.45 in Ireland. A reasonable hour, you might say. Sadly for me, there is a nine hour time difference and it’s 2.45 am over here. I finished filing my last story just a couple of minutes ago. (more…)

  • Lost in Translation

    January 14, 2009 @ 5:52 pm | by Harry McGee

     I wish I had come up with that juicy little expression to describe the lather over the International Monetary Fund today. (more…)

  • Big in Japan

    January 12, 2009 @ 6:59 pm | by Harry McGee

    I write this from Tokyo as Brian Cowen’s official visit to Japan kicks off. The city is unbelievable. Some 35 million people live in the greater connurbation – making it the biggest metropolis in the World – yet you could eat your dinner off the street. The city is overwhelming to the sense on first sigt. Its appearance is brash, modern and futuristic – Times Square multiplied by Picadilly Circus – and you sometimes feel that Western (American) culture is on the cusp of overwhelming the country’s own unique culture and heritage.

    I wasn’t crazy about Sofia Coppola’s ‘Lost in Translation’ but those who live here say it was so so accurate in its visual portrayal of the city’s neon showiness and the neon showiness of its youth  – with their colourful and outre expressions of individuality. Technology is all-encompassing too. You go down to Electric City in downtown Tokyo to witness floors and floors of young males (predominantly) playing amazing the most eye-popping video games. On trains, commuters watch live TV on their mobile phones.

    (more…)


Search Politics