Long before US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin drew the world’s gaze to Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday (local time) America's northern frontier played host to another moment of quiet—yet historic—diplomacy.
On September 26, 1971, Emperor Hirohito of Japan set foot on American soil for the very first time, accompanied by Empress Nagako.
Their brief stop in Anchorage, en route to Europe, would become a symbol of a transformation like no other.
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Just twenty-six years earlier, he had been the symbol of Japan’s crumbling empire during World War II—his voice once used to broadcast surrender in 1945 to a devastated nation.
For the Japanese, it was the first time their emperor was seen abroad, embodying a nation reborn as a democracy and economic powerhouse, and a crucial US ally in the Cold War. For the Americans, it was a gesture of reconciliation, despite the two nations' storied past.
Now known by his posthumous name Emperor Showa, he is also famous for issuing the Humanity Declaration, which denied his status as a living god.
Nixon, in his welcoming remarks, called Alaska “a gateway between two great nations” and emphasised how geography itself testified to the closeness of the relationship, as per a transcript from the American Presidency Project.
"It is most appropriate that Your Majesty's first stop on this historic visit should be Alaska, for this is a State that, in many respects, represents a gateway between two great nations: the United States and Japan," he said.
The symbolism was not lost on observers: the two men, once on opposite sides of the World War II now stood side by side, speaking of peace, partnership, and shared responsibility in the Cold War.
Editorials in Japanese publications such as Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun were also said to have praised the emperor’s journey as proof of Japan’s maturity on the global stage.
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Half a century later, Alaska's Anchorage once again hosted an important meeting between Trump and Putin.
Yet, where Hirohito’s arrival symbolised healing, Friday's talks highlighted fracture: an elaborate display with an uncertain outcome—no ceasefire, no settlement, only rivalry dressed in ceremony.
