SPEECH BY AMBASSADOR HIDETO MITAMURA
AT THE CELEBRATION OF
HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR’S BIRTHDAY
Wellington, Wednesday, 01 December 2010
Representative of the Government, the Honourable Georgina te Heuheu, Minister for Courts, Minister of Pacific Island Affairs; and Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control
Representative of the Opposition Party, the Honourable Lianne Dalziel
Honourable Members of Parliament
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank you all for joining us to celebrate the 77th birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
First and foremost, on behalf of the Government and people of Japan, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to all New Zealanders and, in particular, to the bereaved families of the 29 miners who lost their lives at the Pike River Coal Mine near Greymouth last week.
I have a deep respect to the leadership that was demonstrated by Prime Minister Key and people of the concerned organizations that were trying to rescue and save the lives of these people. Given the Kiwi spirit, and the capability, resiliency, and solidarity of New Zealanders, I sincerely hope that those affected by this tragedy will recover as soon as possible.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and the Empress have travelled many countries promoting goodwill amongst peoples and societies. I am pleased to note that Their Majesties made a memorable visit to New Zealand in May 1973 when they were the then Crown Prince and Princess.
It is indeed the great honour for me to serve as Ambassador of Japan to New Zealand. In fact, I have worked all over the world, including countries within Europe, North and South Americas, the Middle East and Africa, but not yet in Oceania. As such, this is the post I have long dreamt of.
Prior to my arrival here in New Zealand, I had heard that this country is filled with beautiful nature, and is full of goodwill, warmth and kind humanity. Though I am already convinced of this, having visited a number of places and met kind-hearted people during the past one and a half months, I am eager to go to different locations around the country, and meet and befriend as many people as I can.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Japan and New Zealand have long maintained a strong and friendly relationship based on our sharing of fundamental democratic values, and on our joint undertakings in promoting peace, security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Our two countries have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations in every aspect of our partnership, from political dialogues, and economic interactions—including trade and investment—to cultural and people-to-people exchanges. We have also made innumerable contributions together in addressing global challenges in areas such as environmental issues, nuclear disarmament and regional development initiatives.
Year after year, these areas of cooperation are flourishing and expanding; thus attesting that our relationship is strong and firm amidst today’s rapid and continuous globalisation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me revisit the highlights of Japan-New Zealand relations for this year.
Active and intensified high-level dialogues were pursued to create deeper involvement and more opportunities between our two countries.
In October this year, the Right Honourable John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, had bilateral talks in Viet Nam on the margin of the East Asia Summit. The Foreign Ministers, the Hon. Murray McCully and Mr. Seiji Maehara, also spoke with each other.
During the series of APEC meetings in Japan throughout this year we received a number of cabinet ministers from New Zealand, which concluded with the attendance of Prime Minister John Key to the APEC Leaders Week in Yokohama just four weeks ago. We have promoted our relationship further in various fields such as trade and investment, energy, finance, food security, and women’s affairs, not only in the APEC context, but also in a bilateral context.
Interactions between our countries are active not only on the government side but also on the private sector’s.
In the field of economic engagement, the Japan-New Zealand Business Council held its 37th Annual Joint Meeting in October in Tauranga. It convened government and business leaders from both countries for discussions and consultations on meaningful and productive ventures across the industrial sectors linking Japan and New Zealand.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Cultural and people-to-people linkages between our countries remain as vigorous and vibrant as ever.
New Zealand young professionals and promising youth were invited, through Japanese invitational programmes to visit Japan and learn about its people, culture, and society. Under the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, about 3,000 New Zealanders have so far gone to Japan to teach English and work in local government offices all over the country since 1987. To my amazement and admiration, this figure is very high in proportion to the size of New Zealand’s population, which makes the programme more successful in promoting the friendly ties between our countries.
Moreover, our grass-root level collaboration continues to be extensive and robust as evidenced by the impressive number of sister city relationships between Japan and New Zealand. The longest among the standing local government partnerships has marked 36 years since its establishment.
I am convinced that these activities give fundamental impetus for a better and harmonious cross-cultural understanding.
To maximize the gains of bicultural awareness, the 2010 Japan Festival of Wellington was held this year after the successful one last year. Thousands of visiting New Zealanders enjoyed Japanese foods, musical concerts and a variety of cultural performances and demonstrations.
Our affection for Rugby is another cultural commonality that will bring us closer. We have been looking forward to, with great anticipation, the success of both Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2019 which will be hosted by New Zealand and Japan, respectively. Let us cheer together for our respective teams---the New Zealand All Blacks and the Japanese National Team---for their prospective championship matches. I have a strong feeling that the Japanese National Team can play a very close and competitive game against the All Blacks considering that its head coach is Mr. John Kirwan, a former All Blacks wing, who is still considered as one of the highest try scorers in Rugby Union history.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Inspired by our fruitful activities this year, I am affirming my commitment and determination to work to the best of my ability to ensure that our dynamic and comprehensive partnership will continue to prosper in the coming years.
Before inviting you to a toast, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all in advance “A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a toast, wishing for the continued good health, happiness, and success of Her Majesty the Queen of New Zealand, “Kanpai to the Queen.”
