Japan Today
national

Exhibit showcasing UK-Japan royal relationship opens in London

18 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.

18 Comments
Login to comment

Intriguing, I may travel up to have a look.

I believe the armour is the last full set of the period in existence.

Pity there were no pictures to accompany the piece.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

The following link is to an article about the exhibition and contains a couple of pictures plus a description of some of the works of art -

https://www.msn.com/en-GB/news/spotlight/art-of-diplomacy--years-of-japanese-art-in-britains-royal-collection/ar-AAVXhR3?ocid=sapphireappshare

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I thought that as Japan has an emperor, it is referred to as the 'imperial family' not 'royal'.

Royal families have Queens and Kings.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

One might ask -

What is the difference between an empire and a kingdom? (Besides the fact that one is headed by an emperor/empress while the other is headed by a king/queen.)

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Robroy

What is the difference between an empire and a kingdom? (Besides the fact that one is headed by an emperor/empress while the other is headed by a king/queen.)

As far as Japan is concerned...

Unlike UK, Japanese monarch is NOT a head of state but a symbol of state and its people.

Japanese Constitution Article 1:

The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the People, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Thank you for that timely reminder, socrateos.

As you may know the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution (Aristoteles wrote about the constitution of Athens and other ancient Greek states)) of the kind Japan now possesses.

I am not sure where that leaves us.

Nor am I sure where that leaves the people of the United Kingdom.

I do believe that the sovereign power in the UK resides in the "Crown in Parliament".

The only time the people of the United Kingdom are said to have something like sovereignty is when they fleetingly cast their votes in a General Election.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Perhaps you could have phrased your post along the following lines -

A past in which the servants of Empire both civilian and military, took oaths to do their duty only to find they'd been put in impossible positions by those above them.

Perhaps we should all look to the future while not forgetting the past.

Who can fathom the mysteries of moderation?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

UK left the EU, so is desperate for trade partners. Japan is the third biggest economy. Time for Britain to be nice to Japan.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

RodneyToday  02:58 pm JST

UK left the EU, so is desperate for trade partners. Japan is the third biggest economy. Time for Britain to be nice to Japan.

Based on this article I think it's pretty fair to say that with the exception of 4 years in WWII, Britain has already been nice to Japan to start with.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I do believe that the sovereign power in the UK resides in the "Crown in Parliament".

The only time the people of the United Kingdom are said to have something like sovereignty is when they fleetingly cast their votes in a General Election.

Sovereignty in the UK lies with Parliament - it is the ultimate power than can make or unmake laws. "Crown in Parliament" is more about the now largely ceremonial duties of the monarch.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Britain has already been nice to Japan to start with.

my ex, who is Japanese, was beaten up in a pub toilet in Bourmouth, England because of the war. It happened about forty years before she was born.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

The British constitution is a flexible though robust construct of convention and law that has worked and evolved across centuries. A constitution does not need to be a written document, though if like the USA you don’t have centuries to evolve it, it is the quick way but in many cases it can then be rigid and inflexible in light of changing times, circumstances and needs.

The will of the people is sovereign as expressed through their elected representatives in parliament, note they are representatives and should act accordingly (something I wish MP’s should remember), the ultimate authority is the crown in parliament, though it should be remembered since the invitation by parliament for Charles the second to return, the removal of his brother, replaced at parliaments invitation by Dutch Billy and the selection of George the first the crown has been effectively an elective one and ultimately reigns at the consent of parliament.

It is a complex situation that permits of great flexibility.

Yes Ossian is right, bar only a few years in the 1940’s Britain has had friendly relations with Japan for some while.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Ossian = Ossan spell checker obviously thinks you are a poet!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Rodney, how could she be beaten up forty years before she was born?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I do believe that the sovereign power in the UK resides in the "Crown in Parliament".

The only time the people of the United Kingdom are said to have something like sovereignty is when they fleetingly cast their votes in a General Election.

Sovereignty in the UK lies with Parliament - it is the ultimate power than can make or unmake laws. "Crown in Parliament" is more about the now largely ceremonial duties of the monarch.

Bills passed by Parliament in the UK have to be "Approved" by her Majesty. Should Her Majesty be unavailable for any reason, the next person on line for Approval is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites