The Japanese Emperor is in London today for a state visit, the first by the occupant of the chrysanthemum throne to the UK for 26 years. Along with a trip to Buckingham Palace, Emperor Naruhito, accompanied by his wife Empress Masako, will inspect the Thames barrier, which the Emperor studied as a student. He’ll then proceed to Oxford where he spent happy years as an undergraduate. The Emperor will also pay a private visit to St. George’s chapel and lay a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II. Naruhito is a genuine Anglophile.
You may not hear too much about this visit, due to other salient events obviously (there won’t be a meeting with Rishi Sunak) and the characteristically low-key way the Japanese Emperor goes about his duties. The visit (postponed from 2020 due to Covid) is being characterised as a celebration of long-standing ties between the two royal houses and the UK and Japan more broadly. A courtesy call, in other words. But, as ever with Japan, there is probably a bit more to it than meets the eye.
For one thing, it will mark a vivid contrast to the last official visit in 1998 when Emperor Akihito was met with hostility from some veterans of World War II, who turned their backs on him during the procession down the Mall. There were........