The Japanese are fascinated by the scandal concerning the aristocrat formerly known as Prince Andrew. The main themes resonate powerfully. The concepts of duty, shame and being a burden to one’s family are deeply woven into Japanese culture and so embedded in the language that it is hard to express yourself without touching on them. There are at least four expressions for ‘black sheep of the family’ in Japanese and one of the very first kanji I learned was for the word ‘muru-hachibu’ (8 against 1) which means ‘sent to Coventry’ (shouldn’t that be Norfolk now?).  

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There might also be a sense of ‘there but for the grace of god’ relief for the Japanese in watching a fellow constitutional monarchy floundering. It reminds them how unlikely a scandal of that nature and magnitude would be in their 2000-year-old monarchy. For 80 years on from a point when the arguable zenith of the British monarchy coincided with the arguable nadir of the Japanese – the end of the Second World War, the two royal houses have bifurcated in their style and popularity to the point where one is fairly secure (republicanism hardly exists here) and the other appears to be in serious trouble. 

How did this happen? Having been allowed to survive (the occupying Americans........

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