It is 7:30 a.m. and Takaaki Kawashima has less than one hour to spare before leaving for Narita airport. He's due to take a midday flight to London, arriving in time for dinner with Prince Charles, Camilla and a small group of intimates at Clarendon House. He will leave for Japan again Friday morning, arriving back the following day.
"Yes, crazy," he agrees in immaculate British English, "but how often does such an opportunity pop up?"
Takaaki is chairman of Aquascutum, the London-based clothing company that has been taking its lead from British culture and heritage since 1851.