Clinton Greets Emperor, Cites Ties to Japan

President Clinton formally welcomed Japanese Emperor Akihito to the White House on Monday, saying that in the half-century since the end of World War II, the two nations have supplanted the “misunderstanding and even ignorance” that divided them with a deep, lasting friendship.

The youthful, aggressively informal President presided over a formal welcoming ceremony for the emperor and empress with full military honors, including 21-gun salutes and a fife-and-drum corps in Revolutionary War regalia.

Akihito, in his remarks, also alluded to World War II and expressed gratitude that the United States and Japan had overcome the “deplorable rupture” caused by it. While Japanese leaders have acknowledged some aggression and atrocities during the Pacific war, they have not admitted starting it and have given only guarded apologies for it.

The emperor quickly moved off the subject, offering praise for America’s generous treatment in rebuilding Japan’s shattered economy and demoralized society after 1945.

“The Japanese people will not forget the generosity of the support which the United States extended to my country after World War II in providing material support, as well as in caring for the next generations of Japanese by accepting exchange students and other means,” said Akihito, 60. “Nor will they forget the indispensable role played by the United States in ensuring Japan’s security and world peace for the past half-century.”

Clinton towered over Akihito and his wife, Empress Michiko, as he greeted them at an elaborate ceremony on the White House South Lawn. Akihito arrived in a black Cadillac limousine exactly on time at 10 a.m. and, in a break with the tradition practiced in Japan, shook hands with Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The more formal, deferential Japanese would never touch the emperor, occupant of the Chrysanthemum Throne, the oldest monarchal seat on Earth. But Akihito decided to adopt American practices during his 11-day sojourn here; it was handshakes all around Monday.

The two leaders reviewed troops from all branches of the U.S. military in wilting heat and gave brief welcoming remarks that dragged on because of translation. The 4,000 dignitaries and schoolchildren fanned themselves with programs and wiped their brows with handkerchiefs as the 40-minute ceremony went on.

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Clinton recalled that when Akihito first visited the United States as crown prince in 1953, “nations were rebuilding from the devastation of war and vivid memories of that conflict divided our two people.” But much has changed since then in both societies, and now the world’s two largest economies are “inextricably linked,” Clinton said.

The Clintons later met the royal couple in the White House Green Room, a protocol signal that their talks were social and ceremonial, not political. Substantive talks with foreign dignitaries generally occur in the Oval Office.

The emperor and empress arrived Friday in Atlanta and will travel across the country with stops including Tarrytown, N.Y., St. Louis, Denver, Los Angeles and Honolulu.

In Washington, where they arrived Sunday afternoon, the couple toured the Japanese collections at the Freer Gallery and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. They are scheduled to visit a Japanese language program at a school in Great Falls, Va., and to tour the Library of Congress today.

The imperial couple were guests of honor Monday night at the first full-fledged white-tie state dinner of the Clinton Administration in an air-conditioned tent constructed over the Rose Garden.

The more than 170 guests from the worlds of government, business, publishing and entertainment included Oprah Winfrey, Barbra Streisand, retiring Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun and former Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

After dinner, the guests moved to the East Room, where they were entertained by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the soon-to-be-retired conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra.

On Sunday, several hundred Asian Americans protested the emperor’s visit, massing in Lafayette Square across the street from the White House and calling on the Japanese government to atone for wartime barbarism. Shouting “Japan apologize,” the protesters compared Japan’s aggression in World War II to that of the Nazis and demanded that Japan pay reparations to war survivors.