By Will Hollingworth,
Japan and the United States were frustrated by Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, attempting to stop a new runway in Japan in the 1980s, according to newly released files at the National Archives in London.
The documents, released in November following the prince's death in April, show Japan's Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone was "concerned" about the intervention and the U.S. State Department feared the prince could jeopardize the entire project.
As president of the World Wildlife Fund International, the prince wrote to Nakasone in 1986 asking him to rethink the new airstrip on Miyake Island, south of Tokyo, to be used by U.S. Navy carrier-borne aircraft for training.
The details of the prince's letter were leaked to the media, much to the embarrassment of Japan and the United States.
The newly released files reveal the behind-the-scenes exasperation at the prince's comments and attempts by the British government to smooth relations with two of its main allies.
Following articles about the prince's letter, the British Embassy in Tokyo was contacted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "to express Mr Nakasone's concern about His Royal Highness' involvement in a matter which is politically controversial and sensitive in Japan," according to a letter from the Foreign Office in London to the prince's private secretary, Brian McGrath.
The embassy tried to explain the prince's comments were merely a personal view and not representative of the British government's position.
The Foreign Office explained to the prince's private secretary that the Japanese government was under pressure to curb nighttime landing practice at a U.S. base on the Japanese mainland due to noise complaints, but opposition parties were opposing moving them to the island.
The U.S. State Department told the British Embassy in Washington the prince's comments had "revived the problem" and could prove to be a "major obstacle" when Japan and the United States were coming to an agreement on the new airstrip.
The prince urged Nakasone to "resist" the project given the island was in a national park and home to rare species of birds.
Nakasone responded, "With utmost respect to Your Royal Highness, I feel that there might be several relevant facts which may not have been adequately brought to the attention of Your Royal Highness."
The prime minister noted the new 2,000-meter runway was to be used by civilian aircraft as well as night landing practice by U.S. aircraft carrier jets.
"The construction of the runway in Miyake-jima is of vital importance for maintaining the effective operation of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty which forms the vital part of our national security policy," he wrote.
Nakasone assured the prince the government would proceed with "great caution" in order to protect the wildlife and park.
Following opposition to the project, in 1989 the United States and Japan agreed to instead use a runway on Iwojima, now Iwoto Island, located 1,300 kilometers south of Tokyo, for night landing practice.
Prince Philip died in April 2021 and Nakasone, who led Japan between 1982 and 1987, died in 2019.
The prince had a reputation for plain speaking and was also a keen advocate for conservation around the world.
