The Imperial FamilyActivities of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress and other Members of the Imperial FamilyTheir Majesties the Emperor Emeritus and Empress EmeritaAddresses and Press Conferences by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress until April 30, 2019Press ConferencesPress Conference on the occasion of Their Majesties' visit to the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Denmark (1998)
Date:May 12, 1998
Imperial Palace, Tokyo
I think that today, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Denmark all share friendly ties with Japan and the Japanese people also feel a closeness with the peoples of these countries. Japan has learned many things from these countries in the past.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Japan. From 1543, when a ship carrying Portuguese washed ashore on Tanegashima Island, they began to come to Japan, bringing European culture and ideas with them. The firearms, Christianity and natural science introduced by the Portuguese at that time had a great influence on the course of Japanese history.
Regarding Japan's recent relations with Portugal, five years ago events were held in both Japan and Portugal to commemorate 450 years of friendship, and President Mario Alberto Soares went all the way to Tanegashima Island, site of the Portuguese landing, during his visit to Japan as a State Guest. This year, Expo '98 Lisboa will be held under the theme of "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future." I think these events will serve to deepen understanding between our two countries, which are linked by the ocean.
Diplomatic relations between Japan and Britain were established in the middle of the 19th century, and I believe that the people of Japan learned many things from Britain, which played a preponderant role in the modernization of Japan. Thereafter, the Anglo-Japanese Treaty was concluded, but unfortunately, the two countries later found themselves caught up in the throes of war. This truly saddens me. Relations between our two countries have improved since the end of the war, and we cannot forget that there have been the efforts of people in both countries who steadfastly strove to heal the wounds of war. I understand that relations between our two countries have become especially good in recent years. Still, some aspects of the wounds of war have not disappeared, and from time to time, these aspects are reported in the British press.
I think that unlike the relationship between Britain and Japan, Denmark and Japan have not had the experience of confronting each other in battle, and friendly relations between them have continued to this day. Denmark is attracting attention among the Japanese people as a country which is well developed in terms of social welfare, and the Japanese people have also become well acquainted with the country through the children's stories of Hans Christian Andersen. In addition, a great number of Japanese have visited Denmark to learn from its agricultural practices.
The upcoming visit is making me think deeply about the relationships between Japan and the respective countries. I would like to try to contribute to the promotion of mutual understanding and the furthering of the friendly relationships between Japan and these countries.
As His Majesty has said, the history of Portuguese-Japanese relations dates back very far. It seems to me that this fact has always remained in the consciousness of the people of both countries and has been cherished by them as a very special bond. I hope that each new generation to come will ceaselessly continue to feed the stream of friendship and amity flowing from the source of these irreplaceable historical ties, thereby strengthening and improving the bonds between the two countries.
With Britain, too, various forms of interchange have taken place. On hearing that the cherry trees planted by Ernest Satow in the garden of the British Embassy during the Meiji era have aged and that several fresh saplings have recently been planted in the grounds, I thought anew with deep feeling of the past history of Anglo-Japanese relations. It is said that our relations today are better than ever before, but as His Majesty said, the scars left in the wake of the Second World War are deep. We have, from time to time, seen and heard that there are people who, even now, suffer great physical pain and emotional trauma from injuries received then. On our forthcoming visit to Britain, we wish to confirm the friendship cemented by the diligent efforts of persons on both sides both before the war and during the fifty postwar years and do our best to deepen these bonds, but at the same time we intend to keep deeply in mind those who, in the very places we shall visit, still suffer from painful memories in connection with Japan, with the prayer that never again should such bitter occurrences mar the history of our two nations.
After Portugal and Britain we shall visit Denmark. Between Denmark and Japan we have maintained a long, quiet and good relationship over the years. In the fourth year of Meiji (1871) Japan sent a mission to various countries of Europe and to the United States to gather new knowledge on various systems and technologies. Kume Kunitake, a member of the mission, reported with deep respect that although Denmark is a small country, he found the people to be decent and unassuming, and reliable in their interactions with others.
With this kind of feeling as a starting point and base, Japan has continued to note the ongoing flow of history in that country, and over the years, such things as the "Folkehojskole" (Folkhighschool-school providing lifelong education), Danish gymnastics that inspired our radio calisthenics, and more recently, in the field of social welfare, the idea of normalization for the disabled has been widely introduced and adopted in Japan. On this trip, while bearing in mind the history of our past interchange, I hope to be able to relate to the people in the various places we shall visit and with all my heart try to do my best to promote goodwill between our two countries.
I believe that it is important to put oneself in the position of others and strive to have a full sense of the pain in their hearts.
It is my ardent desire to see the friendly relations between the peoples of Japan and Britain further grow based on mutual understanding between them.
Britain and Denmark are not much different from Japan in that their Royal Families preserve have their respective historical heritage and fulfill their duties as stipulated by their Constitution and other related rules. However, there are points which differ in terms of their systems. While the Constitution of Japan stipulates that the Emperor shall not have powers related to government, the Queen of Denmark sometimes presides over meetings of Ministers of State. Although this kind of thing does not happen in the United Kingdom, it can be said that the system there is closer to that of Denmark than that of Japan.
As for the relationships various Royal Families have with their people, when guests are invited to visit foreign countries, the functions held center mainly on them, and therefore, they have little opportunity to sufficiently understand the relationship between the Royal Family and their people. I think that the same is probably true when State Guests from foreign countries visit Japan.
I have always thought of the role of Royal and Imperial Families as caringly watching over everything continually, from a fixed standpoint within a society that is ceaselessly changing, and constantly praying that all will be as it should. Regarding the Royal Families of the two countries we are to visit and the relationship between them and their people, since I do not have sufficient knowledge of them, I think my answer will be the same as His Majesty's.
Thank you for your concern regarding our health.
Last year, we visited Brazil, the foreign country with the largest overseas community of people of Japanese ancestry in the world, and Argentina. Brazilians of Japanese ancestry are engaged in various activities all over their vast country. It was our duty to visit them. The Empress also responded to this effect in answer to a question posed by a reporter on her birthday last year.
Compared to our last visit, when we did not have a day of rest on the weekend, this time we will have a half-day without any scheduled functions during a weekend in Britain. However, as usual, it will still be a busy visit for us, for on the next day we will travel from London via the Jutland Peninsula to Copenhagen by air and by rail. I think we must view official visits as having strenuous schedules by nature.
I may add that when the Empress first showed symptoms of herpes-zoster at the end of the visit, and again last year some time after returning to Japan, absolutely no changes were made to our schedule of visits. However, I understand that the Empress was in severe pain the first time, and still it seemed to me that she bore it remarkably well as she carried out the activities on her itinerary.
Yes, I did fall ill after our official visit to South America last year. It was a recurrence of the herpes-zoster I suffered from three years ago, and I was sorry to have caused anxiety to so many people, but as I stated in an answer to the press last year on the occasion of my birthday, and as His Majesty just said, the visit was our duty. It so happened that Brazil and Argentina were far from Japan and that people of Japanese ancestry were dispersed over a very wide area in these huge countries, and that therefore our daily schedules turned out to be quite severe. But I think that in our lives there are times when we must be prepared to take risks when something important is at stake. Herpes-zoster was painful, but the peace and joy of a mission accomplished was great and now only fond memories and gratitude remain. I have no particular thoughts just now regarding future visits to foreign countries. I shall be careful of my health and will gladly and with all my heart accompany His Majesty whenever the occasion calls for it.
As I have said in the past, the Constitution of Japan defines the Emperor as the symbol of the nation and the unity of the people. I have always borne this in mind as I carried out my duties, and I have always sought the best way to be that symbol. I believe that this is a matter which must be thought of from that perspective. After all, the Royal Family in Britain and the Imperial Family in Japan have their respective historical heritage, and the ways in which the people think and feel are different. In considering this, we must take into account what the Japanese people want.
At the present time, what the majority of the Japanese people basically expect from us, seems to me to be that the Imperial Family be a presence taking up its role in the most worthy way, and fulfilling accordingly the duties that go with that role. That the monarchy continues to be preserved in Japan in this age of democracy, is due to the symbolic character of the Emperor, signifying the unity of the country and seen as necessary. This symbolic factor of Emperor and Imperial Family determines the framework of our public activities and continuously urges us as persons to deepen ourselves individually so that as better human beings we may devote ourselves to the service of the people.
The "worthy role" appropriate for the Imperial Family surely contains the element of "closeness" to the people. However, with the different Imperial and Royal Families, when it comes to deciding what kind of closeness is desired by the people and to what degree, or again regarding the form in which they feel they want it there will be differences of national character and I think it right and good that this be so. Even among the Royal Families of Europe, their way of coping with all this will not necessarily be uniform. We too deem it important to nurture closeness between the Imperial Family and the people, and this we would like to do in a form suitable for this country.
As you said in your question, this is really a matter for consideration in the Diet, and I cannot respond to it until a decision has been made in the Diet. I cannot answer a hypothetical question.
If I may, I too would like to refrain from answering this question at this time.
I read the autobiography of George V with Dr. Koizumi. However, I did not read it in its entirety, but the parts that I did read remain imprinted upon my memory. For example, it is written that George V learned from Walter Bagehot's English Constitution that the King should advise, encourage and warn. I was deeply moved by George V's rectitude and devotion to serving his country and his people. As Crown Prince, Emperor Showa was warmly received by George V, and I am sure that he felt the same way toward the King. Moreover, that book was quite useful in that it helped me deepen my understanding of Britain and the European situation around Britain in times that were already part of history when I read about them.
My reading of English poetry can hardly be called research, but I do from time to time bring out and reread poems I learned at high school and university. In my student days I learned by heart various poems without understanding very much about their meaning, and though this did not do much to improve my English ability, I feel blessed that these poems taught me something of the beauty of the language. Regarding British literature for children, too, I cannot claim to know very much in detail, but I look back with nostalgia on all the stories I read as a child. Before I came to know the English people I had become acquainted with the bears, toads, badgers and black panthers created by English writers. As an adult I still enjoy reading Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Sutcliff and Philippa Pearce. I think that England has made great contributions in the field of children's literature for the benefit of children and adults alike.
unofficial translation
