In Dublin this week after 27 years was Donegal man Eamonn Fingleton who after Trinity worked as an economic journalist first on the Irish Independent and later with the FT in London, Forbes magazine in the USA and now Japan.
He is well known for his two books the first of which Blind Side; Why Japan is still on track to overtake the US by the year 2000, published in 1995, was praised by Bill Clinton.
Mr Fingleton admits that a lot of people say now he was wrong but he argues that they haven't read the book.
"Wages in Japan are 40 per cent higher and look at the exports and current account surpluses.
"The yen is up 40 per cent against the dollar in the last 10 years.
"Yes there are real fundamental problems with Japanese manufacturing which is at the centre of an economy which is very very strong."
He is currently promoting his second book - In Praise of Hard Industries; why manufacturing not the information economy is the key to future prosperity which has done well enough in the Japanese translation to have gone into a second print.
