Empress Michiko of Japan Receives Hillary Clinton for tea

As part of an Asian tour that will also take her to Indonesia, South Korea and China, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is presently visiting Japan. She arrived on Feb. 17, 2009 at the imperial palace in Tokyo. Empress Michiko of Japan was giving a tea party for her and welcomed Ms Clinton with cordiality. The aquaintance of the two ladies dates already back to 1996 when Hillary Clinton was still first lady of the US.

The US Secretary of State began her first full day in Asia with a visit to Tokyo’s Meiji shrine, where she took part in a purification ceremony at the Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji, considered the father of modern Japan.

She showed herself impressed by the principles it is based upon: “I started this morning at the Meiji shrine and was talking to the head priest there who told me about the importance of balance and harmony,” she said. “It’s not only a good concept for religious shrines, it’s a good concept for America’s role in the world,” she added, drawing an implicit contrast to the administration of former President George W. Bush. “We need to be looking to create more balance, more harmony.” See more images here.