Philip Patrick

Tokyo’s toilets aren’t that great

16 March 2024 9:00 am

What is the world’s best city in which to be caught short? You can imagine a lively discussion on this…

Liverpool fans should stop booing the national anthem

26 February 2024 10:22 pm

Liverpool fans, a significant number at least, booed the national anthem at the Carabao Cup final at Wembley yesterday. It wasn’t the…

Why are Japan’s trains so much better than ours?

25 February 2024 5:25 pm

With six more months of train strikes recently announced it is getting hard to imagine a punctual, anxiety-free railway journey…

Who cancelled Miss Japan?

7 February 2024 8:12 pm

Karolina Shiino, a 26-year-old naturalised Japanese woman originally from Ukraine, has been obliged to give up her Miss Japan title…

Not everyone will miss Jurgen Klopp

28 January 2024 7:04 pm

So, farewell then Jurgen Klopp. What memories you will leave us. You were exuberant, passionate and unorthodox. You ran up…

Why no one in Japan is talking about the Fujitsu Post Office scandal

9 January 2024 10:39 pm

‘They are a national disgrace.’ That was the response of a Japanese friend when I asked for her opinion on…

Is Japan finally embracing immigration?

7 January 2024 5:30 pm

Japan has long been known for its steadfast refusal to submit to the allure of large-scale immigration, as a country…

Japan’s earthquake has brought back painful memories

2 January 2024 10:36 pm

The year 2024 began in the worst possible way for Japan. At least 30 people were killed by a powerful…

Why can’t the BBC leave Agatha Christie alone?

29 December 2023 7:40 pm

I would like to report a murder. It took place in the evening of 27 December in millions of homes…

The admirable humility of Japanese sports stars

17 December 2023 7:33 pm

Who is the best paid sportsperson in the world? Cristiano Ronaldo perhaps? Or Kylian Mbappé? Lionel Messi? Novak Djokovic? LeBron…

Does football really need sin bins to tackle bad behaviour?

29 November 2023 8:35 pm

Here we go again. Just when you thought a period of welcome stasis might have descended on the world of…

Everton’s problems are only just beginning

19 November 2023 12:20 am

Pity the poor Everton fans. Just as their once mighty club, now a perennial relegation battler, seemed to have a…

Celtic’s Remembrance Day shame is the final straw

13 November 2023 6:49 pm

A portion of the crowd at Celtic’s Parkhead stadium booed the minute’s silence for Remembrance Sunday. It was abandoned after…

Lost in Translation was Tokyo at its bizarre, dislocating best

23 October 2023 2:00 am

You can wait ages for a Japan themed Hollywood film and then three come at once. In an odd spasm…

Is sumo wrestling dying out?

14 October 2023 5:00 pm

For any young athletes harbouring ambitions of being a sumo wrestler, there was some good news this week. The Japanese…

Football’s shameful silence on Israel’s tragedy

11 October 2023 5:44 pm

Few top-flight football matches these days kick off without an expression of solidarity with a cause or condolence. Along with…

Is Fifa trying to destroy the World Cup?

6 October 2023 1:05 am

It’s official, well almost. Fifa has announced the location for the 2030 (centenary) World Cup. And the winner is… all…

The excruciating pain of being a Manchester United fan

24 September 2023 4:00 pm

Can there be a more wretched existence in football than being a Manchester United fan? Well, yes, would be the…

The upside of living in Japan’s ageing society

19 September 2023 2:28 am

For the first time more than 10 per cent of the Japanese population are aged 80 or older, according to…

Was Luis Rubiales’ resignation really necessary?

12 September 2023 12:54 am

Luis Rubiales, the embattled Spanish football chief, has bowed to the seemingly inevitable and resigned from both his positions as president…

Does Japan not care about Kitagawa’s abuse?

11 September 2023 3:18 am

The niece of Jonny Kitagawa, founder of the Japanese talent agency Jonny & Associates, stepped down this week from her role…

The tragedy of Jordan Henderson

6 September 2023 3:34 am

‘Money has never been a motivation,’ according to footballer Jordan Henderson, the ex Liverpool captain and recent recruit to Al…

Things look grave for Luis Rubiales after his World Cup kiss

27 August 2023 2:46 am

What’s in a kiss? More perhaps than just a moment of bliss. It was really rather stupid of Luis Rubiales, the…

The Fukushima water is safe. So why does no one trust it?

24 August 2023 11:14 pm

Japan will today begin releasing tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant into the ocean (weather permitting). Japan’s…