By EMILY MITCHELL

Official Curtsy Why, the Japanese used to wonder, isn't our imperial family more like the Windsors? That was before the British royals became more famous for marital scandals than anything else. Yet despite her separation from Prince Charles, PRINCESS DIANA is still adored in Japan. During her first visit on her own there last week, admirers waved tiny Union Jacks, children at a health center warmed to her friendliness, and the Emperor and Empress gave her smiles and English tea at the Imperial Palace. Di even had a victory at home: her lawsuit against a gym owner who secretly photographed her exercising was settled for an apology and a substantial sum that will go to a favorite charity.

Oceangoer After a journey fraught with fatigue, loneliness and worry about sharks, GUY DELAGE, 42, splashed ashore on Barbados--the first man to swim the Atlantic. Towing a supply raft into which he slithered each night after swimming six to eight hours, he had left the Cape Verde Islands--some 3,800 km away--55 days earlier. Critics might cavil about his use of flippers and a kickboard, but to his waiting wife and two children, he was a much hugged hero.

A Clint Eastwood Production When ALISON EASTWOOD was at the Cannes film festival last year with Dad, a model hunter spotted her infinite possibilities. Voila! Clint's daughter is now legging it along Paris runways as a model. ``It's a tough world, with a lot of competition,'' says the elegant beauty, who not long ago was a hoyden galloping on horseback along a California beach. A few more months of couture and Eastwood, 22, returns to her Los Angeles acting classes. As for Dad, says daughter, ``He likes the idea that I'm living abroad, working hard and earning a living.'' It makes his day.

Tanks for the Memory At first Hollywood stardom did not improve KEIKO'S life. Sure, the orca had all the fish he wanted, and kids loved him. But the 3.5-ton star of the hit movie Free Willy had outgrown his tank at a Mexico City amusement park, and he suffered from a herpes-like skin condition. After an outpouring of letters, his Mexican owners are donating him to a more spacious aquarium in Oregon, where he will be readied for a life of freedom in the waters off Iceland.

SEEN & HEARD If this is Monday, Esther Grossi, 58, must be in blue, or green, or orange. The new Brazilian Congresswoman is always color coordinated. Hair, dress, shoes, nail polish: they all match, and she chooses a new hue whenever she gets the urge. With a Ph.D. in education, Grossi says her wardrobe reflects her teaching theories: have the courage to change.

Trend alert: world figures are showing up in literary lists. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter just published his poetry. Now Muammar Gaddafi is out with a book for children. The Libyan leader has written Al Karia al Karia: Al Ard al Ard (The Village the Village: The Land the Land) to teach the values of agriculture and rural life. Sort of a Little House on the Desert