Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko begin a tour of Europe today that will take them in Britain, where protests by World War II veterans marred their last visit.
On their 10-day tour, the royal couple will make their first trips to three former Soviet republics -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- and return to Sweden, which they last visited in 2000.
Akihito, whose father Hirohito was revered as a demigod during Japan's conquests of Asia in the 1930s and 1940s, has used his travels abroad to promote Japan's image and help ease the wounds of World War II.
In 2005, the couple went to the US Pacific territory of Saipan, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, to mourn victims from all sides of the conflict.
But Britain has proved a difficult destination, with veterans protesting visits both by Akihito and his father.
When Akihito and Michiko last visited Britain in 1998, World War II veterans jeered and turned their backs as the imperial couple rode into London in a carriage for a ceremonial welcome.
Under the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, Japan paid Allied POWs using the proceeds of the sale of seized assets.
Some 50,000 British prisoners of war captured as Japan seized Britain's Asian colonies were each given ?76 (US$150) at the time. But some veterans have been campaigning for more, saying Japan is now richer and mistreated them.
Japan has apologized to the former POWs but says the case is closed. There was no immediate word on veterans' protests for the upcoming visit.
Akihito is widely revered in Japan, but under the US-imposed 1947 Constitution has no political powers.
In a press conference ahead of his visit, Akihito recalled the burden he felt on previous trips overseas as crown prince representing his father.
"Paying a visit as a representative of the emperor obliges the host country to receive us in a manner almost as if I were the emperor," he said. "As I was afraid that this may be considered discourteous to the host country, such trips placed a heavy burden on me."
The imperial couple said they were particularly interested in making their first visit to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Michiko said she had read about the Baltic states and learned how they "each had to experience long and difficult times."
Akihito said the Baltics during World War II were "turned into a battlefield between Germany and the Soviet Union, resulting in the loss of many lives."
The royals' first foreign tour since June last year will be a test for the 72-year-old empress, who took a break from official duties in March after suffering internal bleeding attributed to stress.
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