Britain’s Prince William wins friends in Japan

Grandson of Queen Elizabeth II offers style that contrasts sharply with Naruhito, imperial family

Britain’s Prince William, on his second day of a fourday trip to Japan, had tea on Friday with Crown Prince Naruhito. Both princes may be equally charming, but it is no contest which one is seen as more approachable.

Members of the Japanese imperial family lead a cloistered life, and their media coverage is tightly controlled, which has created a respectful distance between the family and the public.

Don’t count on Japanese clamoring to get the same dress or jewelry spotted on Naruhito’s wife, Masako, the way many around the world do for William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Crowds have appeared for William, 32, waving to him, snapping cellphone photos and eager to shake his hand.

“Compared to Japanese royalty, he is so friendly,’’ said Naoyuki Tajima, who is overseeing an exhibit about British technology and culture in Tokyo, where William is scheduled to visit.

Tabloidtype gossip, so commonplace for the British royals, is taboo for their counterparts in Japan. Ingrid Seward, editorinchief for Majesty Magazine, a Londonbased monthly that covers European royalty, said the Japanese emperor and his family could become more of a plus for the country’s image by “modernizing’’ and becoming more visible.

“They should take a look at Prince William and how he responds to the people he meets and how he is able to talk to the crowd, like his mother did before him,’’ she said, referring to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

On Friday, William laid a wreath at a cemetery in Yokohama, near Tokyo, where British, Australian, Indian and other Commonwealth servicemen are buried who died in Japan as prisoners of war or with the occupying forces after the war.

His mother visited the same cemetery when she visited Japan.

In a speech at a Tokyo shopping center, he apologized for how his wife, Kate, and their son, George, had not been able to come this time, but promised she would come next time.

“In just 24 hours so far in Japan, I have had a chance to experience the blend of ancient and modern which so characterizes this amazing country,’’ he said.

William is scheduled to visit northeastern Japan, devastated by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which left tens of thousands of people homeless and killed nearly 19,000 people.

The Japanese royal family has its activities governed by the Imperial Household Agency. Masako, 51, has suffered bouts of depression for the last decade, a sickness the Agency acknowledges is stressrelated, and the public speculates is the sign of the toll her insular and rigid life has taken.

She has appeared more energized when traveling overseas or with guests from abroad. She made it to the tea with William. No wonder William is, for Japanese, a prince closer to the people than their own.

“He is cool and handsome. And very tall,’’ exclaimed Akane Ebihara, an employee of the Tokyo Fire Department, after shaking hands with William.

Asked by a reporter about his receding hairline, she vehemently denied that was a drawback.

”Oh, no. No problem,” she said. “His smile is good. His hand was very warm.”