Hirohito hails U.S. help after war

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33965, 4 October 1975, Page 15

Hirohito hails U.S. help after war

(New Zealand Press Association—Copyright) "Vi WASHINGTON, October 3. Emperor Hirohito of Japan says the prime purpose of his two-week mission to the United States is to thank the American people for helping his country rise again from the ashes of World War 11.

After a White House! State dinner last night,: featuring lobster and white rice, the Emperor touched briefly on the! war and hailed the American role in its aftermath. It was a "most unfortunate war, which I deeply deplore/’ the Emperor said in a toast to President Ford. The Monarch then paid tribute to one of the American Government’s most be-

leagured programmes — foreign aid. “There’s one thing in particular which I have hoped to convey to the American people,” Emperor Hirohito said. “That is, to extend in my .own words my gratitude to the people of the United States for the friendly hapd of good will and assistance their great country accorded us for our post-war reconstruction.” In his remarks, Mr Ford did not mention past differences between the two countries.

The President said that the United States places “the highest possible value on our distinctive and mutually beneficial relations” and he stressed American “determination to preserve and strengthen” these ties. A semantic flap developed over the use, in the official translation, of the word “deplore” in, 1 characterising the Emperor’s feelings about World War 11. Several bilingual Japanese and Americans said “deplore” connoted something much stronger than the original Japanese text warranted. The Emperor spoke through an interpreter.