The Emperor Showa's visit to Britain in 1971 was generally viewed as a success but the Japanese monarch could have done more personally to improve Japan's image overseas, according to newly declassified British government papers.
The internal Foreign Office documents from 1971 show that British officials believed that the Emperor, who was then known as Emperor Hirohito and who died in 1989 at the age of 87, could have made some kind of expression of regret and that it was "tactless" of him to refer to "past sufferings" in Germany while making no comment on World War II during his stay in Britain.
One middle-ranking Foreign Office official argued that the Emperor's "introverted personality" actually led to an increase in hostile comments toward Japan during his visit.
The Emperor visited Britain between Oct. 5-8, 1971, as part of a European tour that also took him to Germany, France, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. The European tour was significant because it was the first overseas trip by a reigning Japanese Emperor.