Paul Hosford: Pomp and ceremony as Martin escapes the political heat

Japan is the world's third-largest economy and when Micheál Martin meets Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday, the two will commit to a deepening of relations between two countries over the coming decade

Taoiseach Micheál Martin on his visit to Japan. Picture: Micheál Martin/Twitter

"I am in heaven today. There is plenty of green tea about the place."

Taoiseach Micheál Martin escaped the soaring temperatures in Ireland, and the heat of his own backbenchers, on a trip to Japan, content in his ability to sip copious cups of green tea, the drink that has "sustained him" during his third of a century in the Dàil.