16 MAY 1987, Page 23

Missed fact

Sir: Paul Johnson, in his critique of British press reporting from Japan (The press, 11 April), says, 'Ideally, every good British newspaper ought to have two full-time correspondents in Japan, one to cover the financial markets, the other to deal with political and social news.'

He appears to have missed the fact that, for some months now, this is exactly the level of the Daily Telegraph's representa- tion in Tokyo. Robert Whymant covers politics and Japanese life, with Kimiko Barber on finance. Both speak Japanese fluently and are full-time staff correspon- dents.

Nigel Wade,

Foreign Editor, Daily Telegraph, 135 Fleet Street, London EC4