Japanese Royal Couple Begins U.S. Visit

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko paid homage to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday on the first leg of their goodwill tour of the United States.

The Japanese royal couple laid a wreath on King’s grave at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and spoke with his widow, Coretta Scott King.

Mrs. King and Akihito talked as they walked around the wading pool surrounding King’s tomb, while Michiko and King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, strolled a couple of steps behind.

The couple bowed respectfully at the tomb, but one of King’s contemporaries said the visit was hypocritical if Akihito does not address Japanese racism toward blacks.

“I found Japan to be the most racist nation in the world,” said civil rights activist Hosea Williams, who visited Japan in 1983. “I hope this visit is the beginning of a new relationship between African Americans and the Japanese.”

Japanese politicians have made headlines for insulting remarks about blacks and other minorities, prompting protests and boycott threats from U.S. black leaders.

In addition, Japanese firms operating in the United States have been accused of deliberately discriminating against blacks and Latinos in their hiring policies.

The royal couple is on a 16-day tour designed to ease Japan’s harsh image as the United States’ toughest economic competitor. They plan to visit 11 U.S. cities.

The trip is “to promote friendship and goodwill between our two peoples,” said Takakazu Kuriyama, Japan’s ambassador to the United States.

It is the first time a Japanese emperor has visited the United States since Akihito’s father, Hirohito, did so in 1975. Akihito last visited the United States as crown prince in 1987.

The emperor and empress made no public comments during their first stops in Atlanta, exchanging only pleasantries with dignitaries.

Before visiting the grave of the slain civil rights leader, the couple had lunch with former President Jimmy Carter at the Occidental Grand Hotel.

After a dinner at the Governor’s Mansion on Friday night and a trip to the Atlanta History Center this morning, the royal couple was scheduled to leave Atlanta for Charleston, S.C.