Tokyo's annual Emerald Ball, always one of the first events of the global St Patrick's Day season, is usually graced by members of the Japanese Imperial family. Their Imperial Highnesses Prince (known fondly in the Japanese press as ET) and Princess Hitachi attended the glittering event in the Westin Hotel on Friday of last week. The Princess drew the number for the Grand Door Prize, a free one-year lease on a Mercedes Benz A160. And the lucky winner was
. . . a cousin of the princess, which, after all, was just as well. One of the conditions of the prize was having somewhere to park the limo - Tokyo residents must have a car space before acquiring a private automobile, a scheme that may soon be necessary here. This should be no trouble for a relative of the Imperial family, which has such a big piece of private real estate in the centre of Tokyo that it is known as the city with a hole in the middle.