‘It's just great': Japan ambassador tries Irn Bru on visit to whisky distillery
The Japanese ambassador to the UK has given Irn Bru the thumbs up as he visited a whisky distillery near Glasgow, describing it as 'just great'.
His Excellency Hiroshi Suzuki toured the Auchentoshan Distillery in Clydebank with First Minister John Swinney as the two discussed trade, including Scotland's national drink.
But during his first visit to Scotland he tried the nation's other national drink.
Mr Suzuki had tried Irn Bru earlier during his visit but some Scots had urged him to try the original 1901 recipe, which had been phased out following the sugar tax.
Handed a can by the PA news agency, the Japanese ambassador said he was a big fan.
'It was fantastic,' he said. 'In my life I have never had it before but it was just, just great.'
After taking a gulp of the older recipe Irn Bru, he added: 'It is just great,' while giving it a thumbs up.
The ambassador has become well known online for trying different foods around the UK.
A picture posted on X, formerly Twitter, of Mr Suzuki trying a teacake gained more than 46,000 likes, while his video of eating haggis gained more than 800,000 views on the platform.
Following a tour of the Auchentoshan Distillery, which is owned by the Japanese whisky firm Suntory, Mr Suzuki said Japanese people loved Scottish whisky.
He said Scotland was a 'very important' trading partner for Japan, adding: 'Japanese people love things like Scotch whisky, Scottish salmon, and recently, mackerel has been a great success.
'For the last couple of years, the export of mackerel from Scotland to Japan grew 10 times.'
Mr Suzuki said he 'hoped' trade between Scotland and Japan would continue to grow.
The diplomat took part in a whisky tasting session with the First Minister, trying three drams.
Mr Swinney told PA that Auchentoshan Distillery was an 'excellent example' of the partnership between Scotland and Japan.
He said: 'It's been my pleasure over the last couple of days to host a visit from the Japanese ambassador to Scotland.
'We've been using our time to cement links and connections between Scotland and Japan, and particularly yesterday, to engage with Japanese business people who are investing in Scotland and who recognise Scotland as an attractive destination for investment, particularly in renewable energy, but also in life sciences, and as we see from our visit here today, in the whisky industry as well.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business News Wales
14 minutes ago
- Business News Wales
Identity Fraud Surges Across UK Real Estate Sector
New research has revealed that 70% of real estate professionals have witnessed a rise in identity fraud in the past year, as businesses grapple with the growing threat of sophisticated digital deception. Despite the surge, only 14% regularly escalate fraud cases to the authorities, raising concerns about accountability and enforcement. The study of 250 UK-based real estate workers was conducted by Credas Technologies, which specialises in identity verification technology, and highlights a growing reliance on technology to fight back. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of real estate companies now detect fraud through digital or automated methods, signalling a strong shift towards tech-led defences. More than half (52%) of respondents reported encountering fraudulent identity documents, with fraud cited as the most pressing concern in ID verification (34%), followed by customer experience (24%) and operational inefficiency (20%). 'Fraud is getting worse,' said Tim Barnett, CEO of Credas. 'But the good news is that technology is not just keeping pace, it's gaining ground. Digital ID verification is proving to be one of the most effective tools in detecting and preventing fraud, while also improving the experience for legitimate customers. The future of fraud prevention is automated, intelligent, and proactive.' However, the report also reveals a troubling gap in response. While fraud is on the rise, 56% of real estate professionals rarely or never escalate cases to the authorities, suggesting a potential weakness in the broader fraud response ecosystem. 'As fraudsters grow more sophisticated, the message is clear,' Tim continued. 'The real estate industry must adopt more advanced techniques to stay ahead.'
The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Japan records lowest number of births in more than a century, as population fears grow
Japan's struggle to encourage couples to have more children has been given greater urgency after data showed the annual number of births dropped to below 700,000 for the first time since records began more than a century ago. According to government data released this week, the number of births reached 686,061 in 2024, a decline of 5.7% from the previous year and the lowest since statistics were first kept in 1899. The data excludes babies born to foreign residents. The fertility rate – the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime – also fell to a record-low of 1.15, down from 1.20 in 2023, the health ministry said. That is well below the rate of 2.1 needed to keep the population stable. The ministry said 1.6m deaths had been recorded in 2024, up 1.9% from a year earlier. The number of births and the fertility rate have fallen for nine years in a row, although the number of marriages was slightly up last year, two years after it dipped below half a million for the first time. The number of marriages – a key factor in influencing birth trends in a country where relatively few children are born out of wedlock – rose for the first time in two years to 485,063, up by 10,322 from a year earlier. But the downward trend seen since the 1970s remains unchanged. Japan's birthrate has been falling since it reached the second baby boom in 1973, falling below 1 million in 2016 and below 800,000 in 2022. Last year's figure is about one-quarter of the all-time peak of 2.7 million births in 1949. The latest figures will make uncomfortable reading for officials, as the number of births has fallen into the 680,000 range 15 years earlier than forecast by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, according to the Kyodo news agency. If current trends persists, Japan's population of about 124 million is projected to fall to 87 million by 2070, when 40% of the population will be 65 or over. A shrinking and ageing population could have serious implications for the economy and national security, as the country seeks to boost its military to counter potential threats from China and North Korea. The prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, who has described Japan's demographics as a 'silent emergency', recently unveiled measures to boost the birthrate, including an expansion of child allowance and free high school education, and a guarantee that couples will receive the equivalent of 100% of their take-home pay when they take parental leave at the same time. Ishiba's predecessor, Fumio Kishida, warned that the falling birthrate, combined with rising numbers of deaths, threatened Japan's ability 'to function as a society', adding the country had reached a 'now or never' moment to address its demographic crisis. But attempts by successive governments to ease the financial pressure on couples have had little effect, with statistics showing that people continue to marry later in life, a trend that results in smaller families. The government has been criticised for focusing on married couples rather than on younger, single people who have been put off the idea of marriage. Many cite poor employment prospects and job security, the rising cost of living, and a corporate culture that makes it difficult for female employees to become working mothers. A 2023 survey by the Nippon Foundation found that only 16.5% of people aged 17 to 19 believed they would get married, even though a much larger proportion wanted to do so.
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Asian shares trade mixed after Wall Street's rally stalls on U.S. economic data
Asian shares were mixed on Thursday, as Wall Street's big recent rally lost some momentum following a pair of potentially discouraging reports on the American economy. U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices declined. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.2% to 37,658.46, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined nearly 0.1% to 8,535.10. In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.1% to 2,829.48 after the country's new president and leading liberal politician Lee Jae-myung began his term, vowing to restart talks with North Korea and beef up a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 23,856.54, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 3,374.30. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 finished the day virtually unchanged at 5,970.81 and remained 2.8% below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 42,427.74, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to 19,460.49. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields tumbled following the weaker-than-expected economic updates. One said that activity contracted for U.S. retailers, finance companies and other businesses in the services industries last month, when economists were expecting to see growth. Businesses told the Institute for Supply Management in its survey that all the uncertainty created by tariffs is making it difficult for them to forecast and plan. A second report from ADP suggested U.S. employers outside of the government hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. That could bode ill for Friday's more comprehensive jobs report coming from the U.S. Labor Department, which is one of Wall Street's most anticipated data releases each month. So far, the U.S. job market has remained remarkably resilient despite years of high inflation and now the threat of President Donald Trump's high tariffs. But weakness there could undermine the rest of the economy. Following the reports, traders built up bets that the Federal Reserve will need to cut interest rates later this year in order to prop up the economy, which in turn caused the fall for Treasury yields. The weaker-than-expected ADP report also led Trump to urge Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver cuts to rates more quickly. ''Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform. 'He is unbelievable!!!' The Fed has yet to cut interest rates this year after slashing them through the end of 2024. Part of the reason for the pause is that the Fed wants to see how much Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower interest rates could boost the economy, they could also give inflation more fuel. Longer-term Treasury yields have also been rising in recent weeks because of reasons outside the Fed's control. Investors have been demanding the U.S. government pay more in interest to borrow because of worries about whether it's set to add trillions of dollars to its debt through tax cuts under discussion on Capitol Hill. Investors are hoping for deals that will lower Trump's tariffs. But nothing is assured. The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.35% from 4.46% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks traders' expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, eased to 3.86% from 3.96%. In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 8 cents to $62.77 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 1 cent to $64.87 a barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 142.87 Japanese yen from 142.78 yen. The euro cost $1.1413, little changed from $1.1418. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
