I wrote a piece in The Diplomat on the UK-Japan bilateral relationship, the historical and geopolitical significance of Emperor Naruhito’s visit to the UK, and Britain’s lasting influence in Asia, with monarchical diplomacy as one of its dimensions. thediplomat.com/2024/08/mona...
A recent state visit by Emperor Naruhito recalls the long history of monarch-to-monarch relations in Japanese and British foreign policy.
Whenever I come across a photograph of Kishi Nobusuke, I am reminded of the moment when he appeared at the chief cabinet secretary’s residence after his release from Sugamo Prison in 1948 to visit his brother, Satō Eisaku.
During a conversation with his postwar aide, Tajima Michiji, Hirohito said, 'I had vaguely heard about the terrible things happening in Nanjing during the China Incident through unofficial channels, but since no one talked about it openly, I did not pay much attention….
On August 17, 1949, when Japan was still beset by post-World War II chaos, a train derailment occurred near Matsukawa Station in Fukushima Prefecture, resulting in three fatalities.
During his briefing to Hirohito, Hirohito lamented (my translation): 'For the reign of the grandson of Emperor Meiji to see Japan lose all its overseas territories is a severe blow for me.'
Immediately after signing the peace and U.S.-Japan security treaties in San Francisco, Prime Minister Yoshida returned to Japan, where he apprised Hirohito of the details.
One recurring theme in Hirohito's dialogues with his postwar close aide, Tajima Michiji, was the ideal of a person possessing the combined qualities of Tōjō Hideki and Konoe Fumimaro.
Tajima Michiji, the Imperial Household Agency’s inaugural Grand Steward, records in September 1949 that Hirohito reflected on the acquittal of Admiral Toyoda Soemu 豊田副武, who had served as a highest-ranking officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the last phase of the war…