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| Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Yuki Tatsumi
Emperor Akihito’s time in the Philippines was as much about the past as the future.
Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko made a state visit to the Philippines from January 26 to 30, 2016. It was the first official visit by the Japanese emperor and empress to Southeast Asia.
The imperial visit has attracted attention in the context of growing security ties between Japan and the Philippines. The boost of the relationship between Tokyo and Manila, particularly their security relations, has been unfolding in the face of increasing assertiveness from China in the Asia-Pacific region. That has sparked a growing need felt by Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, to seek a security partner that can complement the U.S. role as a security guarantor in the region. Japan, a close ally of the United States that also has been looking at developing a more robust security profile in the region to counter growing muscle-flexing by Beijing, is a desirable partner. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement reached last year would certainly buttress Japan’s further engagement in Southeast Asia in the areas of trade and investment, from which Manila (though not yet a TPP member) would benefit.
On the part of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, however, their visit was as much about the history of Japan-Filipino relations as much as about its future. In particular, this was a critical part of their effort to continue to remember Japan’s wartime past.
Read the full story at The Diplomat