Dr. Leheny writes (July 30, 2012):

"That said, the UK's response has largely been mockery, extending not just through the papers and television news reports, but also through the comments first of Prime Minister Cameron and then of London Mayor Boris Johnson, who referred to "this guy called Mitt Romney"
in front of 60,000 people at a pre-opening rally in London.

"And this got us wondering whether this would have been possible in Tokyo. That is, when an American official says something provocative about Japan, the response is usually anger rather than mockery."

Dr. Leheny is implying that NHK announcers and commentators, unlike their BBC counterparts, would have made their anger known had these Olimpyc (not a typo; I just don't want to use the O word without permission) Games been held in Tokyo, not London. He is also implying that Prime Minister Noda, unlike, Cameron, would have dumped harshly on Romney. He is also implying that Ishihara Shintaro, unlike Boris Johnson, would have threatened to smash Romney's gourd if he ever came near the National Stadium.okay, I'll give Dr.
Leheny that one, but give me a break, we're talking about Ishihara Shintaro here. More generally, he is implying that the British tabloids did not display anger but relied solely on their sense of humor, just like their more sober high-end counterparts. (Remember that national newspapers in Japan, with their massive readerships, satisfy needs that are very different from those of FT readers.) More critically, though, he is implying that anger-an emotion-and mockery-a form of expression-are mutually exclusive.

That said, he may be on to something about the Brits, who seen unable to see anything except through the lens of irony. There was an illuminating John Oliver skit on The Daily Show around the rain on the Diamond Jubilee that lathered British irony with a heavy dose of overkill (I use the word in a non-ironic, aesthetically positive, so-was-Mark-Twain sense) American humor. So a more meaningful question might be: Would the leaders, the media, of any country other than the United Kingdom, have acted like their British counterparts?
Bonus points for imagining any other country that would have had its 80-something queen fake a parachute dive in a 007 skit for the opening ceremonies? (Putin, I'm sure would have done it, but he would have made the dive himself.)

Finally, I must remind every of you that the question is moot as far as Japan is concerned. For the kind of mishaps that marred the preparations and the opening ceremonies in London-sorry, Gill, but I cannot tell a lie--would never have happened with us Japanese stage-managing the show. Yes, we are the people that make the trains run on time. And if you don't get that, you don't "get" Japanese culture.

Jun Okumura