Tokyo, Monday

THE Princess of Wales went on a charm offensive today as she again

stepped into the international spotlight on the first day of a working

visit to Japan.

She visited a children's hospital in Tokyo and in a speech partly in

Japanese, expressed her sympathy for victims of the Kobe earthquake.

On the first visit of her four-day tour, the princess told a luncheon

at the National Children's Hospital in Tokyo: ''My heart goes out to the

victims of this savage natural disaster and, of course, to their

families.''

The Great Hanshin earthquake hit the Kobe region on January 17 killing

more than 5000 people and injuring 25,000.

The princess will not be visiting Kobe, but she said: ''In the last

three weeks our thoughts have been with the children and families of

Kobe and surrounding areas, victims of a most terrifying earthquake.

''Yet in the midst of the most dreadful devastation it was wonderful

to see neighbours coming to the help of those who needed it and to

witness the strong sense of community in the rescue.

''The resistance and optimism of the Japanese people has been much in

evidence during this tragic time.''

The hospital, which the princess visited in 1990 when in Japan for the

enthronement of Emperor Akihito, is linked to the Great Ormond Street

Hospital in London, of which she is president.

Today's visit was the highlight in the hospital's ground-breaking

treatment of children and its links with Great Ormond Street's Peter Pan

Children's Fund appeal, launched in Japan in 1993.

Despite reports of a chill in official Japanese attitudes to the

now-estranged wife of the Prince of Wales, the princess was a hit with

her audience with a 20-second introduction to her speech in Japanese.

Buckingham Palace officials said she had been practising to get the

pronunciation and intonation exactly right, with four weeks' coaching

from a Japanese woman in London.

Although revelations about the princess's marriage difficulties have

taken the edge off some of their devotion, most Japanese, especially the

women, still regard her as a beautiful role model.

Several hundred people gathered outside the hospital by the time the

princess left, despite there being little advance publicity. The visit

was also covered by dozens of Japanese TV crews, photographers, and

reporters.