Japan's response to the Gulf War in 1990 was "too little, too late" and made the economic superpower look like a "political pygmy," according to a critical assessment by Britain's ambassador to Japan in recently declassified files.
Writing in March 1991, John Whitehead said Tokyo's reaction was hampered by "weak political leadership, a cautious bureaucracy" and an inability to respond to fast-moving situations.
In a letter to his bosses in London dated March 18, 1991, Whitehead wrote, "The general perception must be that Japan has not come well out of the Gulf crisis."