Denis Campbell Political Correspondent
THE Japanese Emperor failed in his bid last night to defuse the row over Japan's brutal treatment of captured British Servicemen during the Second World War.
Veterans dismissed his expression of ''deep sorrow and pain'' as falling well short of the full apology they believe Japan should provide to atone properly for mistreating the prisoners of war.
Former labour camp internees rejected Emperor Akihito's re-marks and vowed to continue the public and emotional protests which yesterday dogged the first day of his visit.
Hundreds of those who suffered at Japanese hands staged a symbolic show of contempt by turning their backs on the Emperor as he passed down the Mall with the Queen on his way to the Palace to receive the Order of the Garter.
They whistled Colonel Bogey, the famous wartime tune associated with the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, to mark their anger. Others booed, hissed and catcalled. One Scottish veteran burned the Japanese flag.
The protesters were angry that in a speech to a Buckingham Palace banquet in his honour, the Emperor extended words of condolence to everyone who suffered as a result of the war but did not acknowledge or refer directly to Japan's mistreatment of British prisoners.
In his remarks, he did not make any reference to the torture, starvation and forced labour which Japan forced captured British soldiers to undergo. Instead, he simply stated: ''It truly saddens me, however, that the relationship so nurtured between our two countries should have been marred by the Second World War.
''The Empress and I can never forget the many kinds of suffering so many people have undergone because of that war. At the thought of the scars of war that they bear, our hearts are filled with deep sorrow and pain. All through the visit here, this thought will never leave our minds.''
The Emperor's official spokes-man, Kazuo Chiba, on BBC 2 Newsnight gave his own apology for the actions of some Japanese troops in charge of prisoners. ''Those individuals who engaged in such acts ... it was beastly. I am very sorry about it.'' Mr Chiba, however, repeated that the Emperor could not go further than he had because of constitutional restrictions.
Martyn Day, solicitor for the veterans, said the Emperor's speech did not go far enough to put an end to the demonstrations. Veterans intend to stage at least a token protest at every event which Akihito attends before he leaves on Sunday. The veterans want a full apology for Japan's behaviour towards them during the war and what they regard as appropriate compensation for those who suffered.
''Unless the Japanese take the bull by the horns and say, right, we're going to resolve this by a real, meaningful apology and compensation, they will be haunted by it for years to come,'' Mr Day told BBC Radio.
Neither the Emperor nor the Queen showed any sign of being upset by the ''Mexican wave'' of back-turning, whistling and other protests which accompanied their drive down The Mall. They smiled and waved at the crowds, which included many Japanese waving both their national flag and the Union flag, which Japanese Embassy staff had distributed.
Some labour camp survivors on the route wore black to mark their grief for fallen comrades. Others wore green berets and medals. However, torrential rain meant a closed rather than an open-topped carriage, so it is doubtful if the monarchs saw as much of the protests as had been expected.
Later booing and chants of ''go home'' greeted the Emperor as he emerged from Westminster Abbey. Again the demonstrators turned their backs and hummed Colonel Bogey.
In taking the action, the veterans defied Tony Blair's personal plea that Britain should extend a ''warm welcome'' to the Emperor and try not to live in the past. He had stressed the vital nature of Britain's trade with Japan and reliance upon Japanese investment in Britain for 75,000 jobs.
More protests are expected today when the Emperor meets the Prince of Wales in Cardiff and attends an evening banquet in London's Guildhall.
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