On a three-day state visit to Great Britain, from June 25 to 27, 2024, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan are writing a new chapter in a turbulent history between the world’s two oldest monarchies.
The Empire of the Rising Sun and the United Kingdom flank the vast Eurasian continent, to the east and west, like two immutable sentinels. Both unwavering vassals of the United States, they share the same respect for age-old traditions and veneration for a sovereign family that dates back to the dawn of time. Close relations were established between the two states from the Meiji era, in the middle of the 19th century. Japan, emerging from a long isolation, then opened up to modernity and was inspired by the English industrial model. As early as 1869, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria, during a world tour, stopped off in the archipelago. Later, the two countries would be allied against Russia in the War of 1904, then again with the First World War.
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In 1921, Crown Prince Hirohito was the first member of the imperial family to visit Europe and the United Kingdom. On the way, he stopped in Malta to bow before the graves of Japanese soldiers killed in the Mediterranean during the conflict. George V was then 55 years old, and he warmly welcomed the young man whom he surrounded with almost paternal affection. He puts him in his carriage for the welcome parade. The future emperor then discovered the benefits of royalty in connection with his people, as he later recalled: “I went to the United Kingdom at the age of 20. I spent three days at the palace of Buckingham, to King George V, and he taught me, alongside the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII, how to become a constitutional sovereign. For me, he was a second father. learned from King George V about the nature of a constitutional monarchy marked me for life.”
Back in Asia, Hirohito quickly became regent, then monarch in his own right. From his brief stay in England, he retained the habit of ordering his suits from the best tailors on Saville Row. He will now prefer eggs and ham, toast and oatmeal to the traditional breakfast of miso soup and rice! He will abandon the futon to sleep in a Western-style bed. He will also adopt certain European mores, such as eliminating cohabitation in favor of monogamy. When World War II broke out, Japan initially stayed away from the conflict. In 1940 and 41, George VI still sent friendly telegrams to Hirohito to congratulate him on the 2600th anniversary of the Amaterasu dynasty, then for the marriage of Prince Takahito of Mikasa… just two months before Pearl Harbor. Sadly, the battles in the Far East and the Pacific left wounds that were difficult to heal. Commonwealth prisoners of war, subjected to the most barbaric torture and treatment, will die en masse. For example, 16,000 of them perished in the construction of the Burma Railway, ominously nicknamed the “Railway of Death”.
Relationships that are not always peaceful or friendly
However, once peace had returned, rapprochement was rapid. In 1953, a year after the end of the American occupation, Crown Prince Akihito attended the coronation of Elizabeth II, thus making his first official trip abroad. He is received as a guest of honor by Winston Churchill. However, it was not until 1971 that Hirohito, half a century after his first stay, went to London again. While passing through Paris, he wanted to greet the Duke of Windsor. Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, who commanded the Pacific Fleet, refuses to attend the state banquet at Buckingham. Elizabeth II, with her legendary wisdom, plays mediator: “It is clear that relations between our two countries have not always been peaceful or friendly, but it is precisely this past which should underline our desire not to do it again. ” To show her determination to turn the page, the queen will in turn travel to Japan four years later.
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In May 1998, the state trip of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko revived the rifts of the past. “Akihito’s visit fuels anger in Britain”, headlines Washington Post. Two hundred veterans, all in their 80s, adorned with medals and brandishing the Union Jack, ostentatiously turn their backs as the carriage passes by which takes the couple along the Mall. Some go so far as to burn the Japanese flag! The tabloids and some television commentators are belching against these “dirty little Japs”. You should know that in English, this word is considered offensive and racist, like the French “Boches” to designate Germans. Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro sends an open letter to the British, expressing “deep regret and remorse and sincere apologies” for the suffering inflicted on prisoners of war. In his toast at the state dinner, Akihito also expressed his repentance: “The Empress and I will never be able to forget the suffering of all kinds that so many people have endured because of this war. When we remember the scars they bear, our hearts are filled with deep pain and sadness.” According to the protocol code of the Mikado, the Son of Heaven cannot present a formal apology and the wording of his speech could also include the million Japanese civilian victims…
However, Akihito was elevated to the rank of Knight of the Order of the Garter and Prime Minister Tony Blair urged them to “celebrate the relationship that now exists” between the two countries. Akihito will return to the United Kingdom in 2012 to celebrate Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. His son, Naruhito, who ascended the throne in 2019, should have gone there in turn the following year. The Covid-19 crisis has forced the postponement of this trip which will not fail to strengthen the friendship, which is now very solid, between the Lion and the Chrysanthemum.
