Turning Japanese

Two weeks away in Japan, and look at all the posts! I almost dropped my souvenir print of Mount Fuji...

As well as giving me an opportunity to acquire more GY tat, the trip to the Land of the Rising Sun was a chance to see a country with a different approach to the media.

Not satisfied with having heated toilet seats and cigarette vending machines on every street, the Japanese also boast the highest level of newspaper readership anywhere in the world (more than 80% take a daily paper).

Noteworthy in itself, its all the more remarkable for the fact that, if the English translations are correct, Japanese papers are UNBELIEVABLY BORING.

This is the Daily Yomuri's coverage of whether the country's new President, Shinzo Abe, would visit the notorious Yasakuni Shrine, where several Class A war criminals are venerated:

"Meanwhile, Abe avoided the issue of whether he would visit the war-related Yasukuni Shrine during his tenure, reportedly saying that he would not comment on whether he would visit the shrine because such remarks would likely become a political and diplomatic issue."

No wonder they all fall asleep on the tube. But the message for British newspapers is clear. More deference, more lengthy pieces on procedural issues -- and watch the sales sky-rocket.