Several weeks ago Time Magazine's Tokyo bureau asked Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to nominate someone for the magazine's series of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, and Obuchi chose Emperor Showa.
Later, Obuchi and his staff objected to the magazine's choice of a photo to go alongside the piece that Obuchi (or whoever) wrote about the emperor. The message dwelled on Japan's dedication to peace, but the photo showed the emperor in a military uniform.
Time responded that the uniform "doesn't change who he is," a comment that, while self-evident to the point of insult, didn't address the prime minister's objection. Whatever Time thought of the quality or content of Obuchi's essay, they requested it, which means they were obliged to select a photograph that didn't contradict the tenor of the piece. Personally, I don't believe Emperor Showa was the powerless nebbish that his subsequent PR has painted him as, but I seriously doubt that Time was making some kind of editorial comment.
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