Careful Preparation for Royal Diplomacy

To make the Emperor Akihito’s first visit to China in the postwar period successful, the government of Japan deliberately took care of possible oppositions of the rightwing power in Japan. Diplomatic documents of Minister of Foreign Affairs disclosed last month describes that Japanese government was careful not to miss the opportunity and eager to build a new bilateral relationship for the future. The experience needs to be reflected to current situation of the two countries.

MOFA discloses diplomatic records with thirty years old or more once every year. In the  disclosure in 2023, the documents on Akihito’s visit to China in 1992, commemorating twentieth anniversary of Japan-China Joint Communiquewhich normalized the bilateral relationship, revealed political consideration in Japan, China and United States.

According to the news reports, Akihito’s visit to China was requested by Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng at his visit to Japan in 1989, the year when Akihito succeeded to the throne. Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, who took office in 1991, started preparing the visit in 1992, with consultation with George H. W. Bush administration of United States.

The greatest concern was how the rightwing in Japan would respond to the visit. The visit had been considered a few years after the Tiananmen Square incident in 1986, in which the government of China oppressed student-led demonstrations. It was likely that the rightwing people in Japan would oppose the visit which might approve Chinese government oppressing democracy.

Japanese government also had a concern that the conservatives would protest against the visit which might lead to an apology by the Emperor on wartime aggression of Imperial Japan. There were concerns on whether the Chinese people would welcome Japanese Emperor not only in Japan but United States. “It’s going to be an interesting visit. Will Chinese people welcome the Emperor?” Bush asked in the summit talk in Tokyo early 1992, in which Miyazawa revealed Japan’s plan of Emperor’s visit in October.

The government of Japan insisted on the visit as early as possible, because Japan wanted to renew the relationship with China after the wartime Emperor, Hirohito, had deceased in 1989. Aging of Chinese top leader, Deng Xiaoping, was another concern. While Article 4 of Constitution of Japan says that the Emperor does not have powers related to government, it was obvious that Japanese government was in a hurry to settle the disputes over its past aggression.

Japan was expecting economic interest in improving the relationship with China, which had been showing potentiality of high growth. Through the outstanding economic development in China for decades afterward, adding to Japanese government led by historically revisionist leaders, the bilateral relationship between Japan and China has drastically been changed. But the diplomatic record over the Emperors visit in 1992 shows the importance of taking efforts for historical reconciliation.