The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Queen developed warm ties with Japan, Imperial family
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, not only met with three generations of current or future emperors of Japan during her 70year reign, but also interacted with the Japanese public during a visit for which she was remembered for her warmth and caring smile.
“I met the queen only for a short time, but I was impressed by her doing her duties on a very tight schedule,” said Motoko Aizawa, 63, who is currently living in Washington. “She was a great person who dedicated her life to serving people.”
e queen, who died Sept. 8 at the age of 96, arrived for her rst o cial visit to Japan as head of state on May 7, 1975, and stayed for six days. Aizawa met the queen when the monarch observed traditional Japanese sports at a gym in Tokyo, where she explained the ner points of the martial arts including naginata, which uses a long-handled sword.
Aizawa was a rst-year high school student at that time and was chosen because she had won a national English speech contest for junior high school students the previous year. When she completed her assignment and said farewell to the queen, the queen smiled and complimented her, Aizawa recalled.
“Having contact with the queen made me feel con dent about my English,” said Aizawa, who went on to pass the bar exam in Britain and now works as a human rights activist in Washington. “It was a great honor to meet her and she had a major impact on my life.”
At the British Embassy in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, ags ew at half-mast. A 55-year-old woman from Nagoya visiting the embassy with owers said in tears: “She was always there for people and a lovely lady who always had a sense of humor. I really wanted her to recover.”
e o cial visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Japan in 1975 was a reciprocal visit for that of Emperor Showa to Britain in 1971. e Emperor Emeritus attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, when he was crown prince.
(Published in print on Sept. 10)