This is the face of diplomacy in 2026: A 64-year-old Japanese man with a Paddington bear plushie downing a pint and exclaiming, “That’s boss, that!”

Hiroshi Suzuki, Tokyo’s ambassador to the UK, is winning hearts and minds online, not through promotion of sushi, sumo or the other staples of traditional Japanese culture that envoys normally engage in, but via his love of Britain. On social media, he samples real ales and other local delights, with his signature Peruvian bear in tow.

© Bloomberg