THE ADVOCATE 903
VOL. 79 PART 6 NOVEMBER 2021
One of my responsibilities was to interpret for the ambassador. In my
case, I was warned not to use my Osaka dialect, so I would try very hard
to speak neutral Japanese. One ambassador was a big impressive man. At
the end of every speech he would tell a joke—I never knew what it was
going to be—and I found it really difficult to translate Canadian humour
about Newfoundland or other nuances. One time, I really didn’t know
how to translate his joke, so I turned to the crowd and said in the thickest
Osaka accent I could muster: “Ladies and gentleman, the ambassador has
just said something incredibly funny so please laugh your heads off!” The
audience exploded and clapped and the ambassador turned to me and
said, “Great, we’ll use that one next time!”
It was expected that Wilf’s legal practice might yet be carried on in British
Columbia. However, the collapse of Japan’s asset price “bubble” in 1991 and
the comparative retreat of Japanese interests to their native shores tilted
the balance towards a career based in the land of the rising sun. Wilf and
Takako with their two children moved to Japan in that year, and Wilf more
or less underwent a “role reversal” of sorts. While representing British
Columbia as Commissioner, Trade and Investment for the Kansai region
(including Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto) in the ’90s (including serving on recovery
projects after the disastrous 1995 Kobe earthquake, which he and his
family survived unscathed), Wilf’s professional career now focused on
assisting and orienting Canadian, U.S. and European individuals and companies
to the complexities of Japan’s legal and commercial systems and
dealing with a multitude of cross-border issues. He was admitted to practise
in Japan as a foreign law solicitor and became a member of the Tokyo Bar
Association. He received the prestigious appointment to the Expert’s Committee
of the Japanese Investment Council. Wakely Foreign Law Office
became associated with TMI Associates, one of Japan’s top three law firms.
The eventual sale of their home in West Vancouver and the purchase of
a delightful balconied apartment in central Tokyo, as well as a recreational
property in Ryokan country, fully confirmed Japan as Wilf and Takako’s
permanent home.
Not all was affairs of state, international commerce and big business, or
the glamour and conviviality of the Ginza izakayas or the Roppongi Hills
Club. Wilf freely volunteered his legal services to the less fortunate and the
needy, and he was a champion for those who were so unfortunate as to find
themselves facing the truly uphill battle to retrieve children wrongfully
abducted to Japan. He was a tireless and successful advocate of the rights
of Canadians living abroad to vote in our federal elections.
Yet Wilf prided himself in his Canadian heritage (as well as his Irish heritage,
becoming a dual citizen of Canada and Ireland in 1997). He was a frequent
visitor to Canada and he maintained his Law Society of British
Columbia membership throughout.