"Learning the language is up for negotiation. The country I am really familiar with is Japan and I am fluent in Japanese after living there for two years. Someone up there has a bit of a sense of humour that I should end up with someone Chinese."
When he returned to Britain, Hunt tried his hand at a few businesses related to Japan (including an unsuccessful attempt to export marmalade) and hit on the idea of producing a Japanese language guide to educational courses in the UK. This morphed into a business called Hotcourses which is now one of the largest general guides for all students.
By some accounts, Hunt is regraded highly by the new Prime Minister, David Cameron, and might have won a more senior cabinet post if the Tories had won an outright majority. Space had to be found for some Liberal Democrats, however.
The other Japan link in the new British cabinet is Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. His great grandmother was Japanese.
