The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are on a four-day tour of Japan to celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Britain and the Asian industrial superpower.

Surprisingly — to some observers, at least — Camilla is proving a real hit with the crowds. Animated onlookers greeted her with enthusiasm at Keio University in Tokyo. It seemed a bit more than legendary Japanese politeness.

Meanwhile, the Prince was entertained by a disco-dancing robot during a visit to the Miraikan Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Prince Charles was given a demonstration by ASIMO (Advance Steps In Mobility), a machine that can perform a range of actions, including running and dancing.

Prince Charles and the disco-dancing Japanese robot

The robot began by loping in front of the slightly-startled Prince, waving its hands around and repeating, “Konnichi-wa,” Japanese for “Good afternoon.”

On another occasion, Charles and Camilla appeared to be mesmerised by a troupe of Kendo exponents who enthusiastically demonstrated the ancient martial art to the Royal guests.

The Prince and the Duchess also watched a performance of Kabuki, traditional Japanese theatre that features actors in elaborate makeup performing stylised drama.

But Charles would hardly make such an important visit without pressing his case for a “low-carbon world.” True to form, he warned his hosts that the world was facing a “climate crunch.”

In a message aimed at governments around the world, he stressed they must not let concerns with the global “credit crunch” distract them from the growing problem of the “climate crunch.”

By all accounts the visit is turning into a great success, as the Royal party find it easy to gain popular acceptability in another Monarchist country.