Theresa May says goodbye to old friends at Japan’s G20

Theresa May makes her final bow on the world stage in Japan, where she is attending the G20 heads of government meeting in Osaka. It’s a funny place for it all to end.

Japan’s second city prides itself as the country’s comedy capital. It is home to Japan’s ‘manzai’ tradition – a slapstick straight man/funny man double act which involves a lot of head slapping and cross talk. Besides their sense of humour, Osakans are known for their garrulousness, gaudy clothing and their suspicion of haughty, overly serious Tokyo. Think of Glasgow’s relationship to Edinburgh, or Newcastle’s to London, and you’re not far off.

To ram home the message of Osaka’s distinctive quirkiness and to welcome the distinguished visitors, a truly bizarre English rap video has been released by a troop of Osakan grandmothers (obachans). It’s called ‘Here is Osaka wonderful city’. The old ladies employ charmingly broken English to boast of their home city’s friendliness, and take a swipe at the less welcoming capital.