Green Central: the environmental blog

The Prince of Wales flew halfway round the world today for an official tour of Japan in which he will be calling for a drastic reduction in carbon output.

Accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, he was greeted in Tokyo by Crown Prince Naruhito, who cut a solitary figure, being unaccompanied, as usual, by Crown Princess Masako, who has not carried out official functions since being diagnosed with depression.

Clarence House officials are already working hard to promote the key messages of the tour: climate change and the destruction of the rainforests. In an advance notice of a speech the Prince is due to give tomorrow at a Tokyo science museum they said he will call for “nothing less than an urgent, full-scale transformation to a low-carbon society”.

In the speech, to an audience of business leaders and politicians, the officials said, he will reflect on the joint work already being done by Japanese and British scientists, and emphasise the important steps which the big G8 countries need to take in the fight against climate change.

Clarence House has already attempted to head off criticism that the five-day tour, which will be followed by visits to Brunei and Indonesia, will itself leave a large carbon footprint. The flights will be carbon-offset, and Clarence House has argued that sometimes a message has to be put across in person in order to be most effective.

The tour, which marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the United Kingdom, will also be building on the strong trade links between the two countries. The UK is the number one destination for Japanese investment in Europe and Japan is the UK's largest export market after Europe and the United States.

The British ambassador in Tokyo, David Warren, said: “The relationship between the UK and Japan continues to flourish. In this special year as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, I know that a great many people in Japan are looking forward to welcoming their Royal Highnesses to this country.”

The trip is Prince Charles's third visit to Japan, although the Duchess has never been there before. She will be finishing her tour after Brunei, partly in order to avoid the heat in Indonesia (the Duchess has an uncomfortable time in hot climates) and partly to return to the UK in time to help organise Charles's 60th birthday celebrations.

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