No credit to the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, for expressing the wish last month that Britain ‘ act responsibly ‘ in the Brexit negotiations with the EU. This caution was unnecessary, and almost insulting to Mrs May, as if she would want to conduct these critical negotiations in any other way!

Compare this to the Malaysian Prime Minister’s comments when he referred to the historic ties of friendship between our two countries, and expressed his confidence that, notwithstanding Brexit, these would continue.

I’ve long admired the enterprise and hard work characteristics of the Japanese people, and have been fortunate enough to visit the country often. Better kindness and hospitality would be difficult to find anywhere.

However, it would do no harm to remind Mr Abe that Japanese administrations in the not so distant past, have not acted at all responsibly, resulting in tragedy and irreparable damage to both their own people and to other nationalities, notably the Chinese. In particular, I refer to the disgraceful mass murder and mass rape of the population of Nanjing (Nanking) in the winter of 1937/38, when it is estimated that over 250,000 people were massacred by the Japanese military. Is this event truthfully covered in Japan’s school history books?? Are the many other similar war-time Japanese atrocities in Asia?

Look before you leap Mr Abe !