"If you speak two languages, you are bilingual," began the flamboyantly dressed Koutaro Tamura as he spoke to the audience at Euromoney’s Japan Capital Markets Congress on September 26. Tamura, a controversial figure recently "kicked out of government" (in his own words – he was a parliamentary secretary in the cabinet office responsible for financial services) was part of a panel discussing the viability of Tokyo as a financial hub for Asia, and had been asked about New York. "If you speak three languages, you are trilingual," he continued. "If you speak many, you are called multilingual. If you speak only one language, you are an American."
Tamura, resplendent in a striped suit, brash tie, pointed brown shoes and red socks, clearly had his tongue firmly in his cheek as he continued to make similarly controversial remarks throughout the debate. A passionate believer in Japan’s potential as a gateway to Asia, he railed against inertia and conservatism, responding to one panellist’s comment that Japan’s Financial Services Agency was run by bureaucrats by adding "... yes, and five stupid politicians." After the discussion was over, the audience members, eager to speak to him – or perhaps hit him – were no doubt unsurprised to find Tamura’s face beaming back at them from his business card.