Kenny overshadowed in land of the rising sun

Big in Japan — but for one night only: It wasn’t long before the Taoiseach became yesterday’s news in Tokyo as Joe Biden rolled into town.

His government might have been taking the regular political flak back home, but Enda Kenny was appearing in an interview with national Japanese television, having made an appearance in some newspapers, as part of his drive to promote Ireland and its products.

His moment of fame was soon over, with the arrival of the US vice president who has begun a delicate diplomacy mission in Japan and China, to calm heightening tensions surrounding the designation of air space and a disputed group of uninhabited islands.