I "honor the emperor" of Japan

Read about Japan's Akihito pushing imperial boundaries to reach out to Asia. I have met him two times in Karuizawa and have deep respect for him and his wife Michiko.

Below are some quotes.

Friends and scholars credit Akihito’s post-war education with laying the foundations for how he forged his role. Influences included (Christian) Quaker tutor Elizabeth Vining and former Keio University head Shinzo Koizumi, who saw many of his students die in the conflict. “Currently, most Japanese people think that the emperor is gentle and kind,” Mototsugu Akashi, a former classmate, told Reuters. “But that is clearly a post-war phenomenon.”

Akihito’s public remarks are carefully vetted to ensure they don’t violate those rules, with delicate discussions determining how forthright he can be. Akihito strained against those limits, say those who know him. “I know that for one or two speeches, he was angry with the Imperial Household Agency and foreign ministry about the words to be used,” said Michael Barrett, who knew Akihito while head of the British Council in Japan during the 1990s. “It was said that they (the imperial couple) were birds in a gilded cage, but he opened the door of that cage,” he added.

In 2015 he and (his wife) Michiko went to Palau’s tiny Peleliu island, site of a fierce battle in 1944. In 2016 they visited the Philippines and this year returned to Okinawa. On the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat, Akihito expressed “deep remorse” over the war, a nuanced departure from his annual script. Many liberals and moderate conservatives saw it as a subtle rebuke to Abe, who a day earlier had expressed “utmost grief” for the suffering Japan inflicted but said future generations should not have to keep apologizing.

1 Peter 2:17, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."