Embassy of Japan in Timor-Leste
在東ティモール日本国大使館

The The President of TL's Speech

 

　Your Excellency Ambassador Kitahara-san,
　Mrs. Yoshiko Kitahara,

 

　I am honored to be here today to pay tribute to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan on the occasion of His Majesty’s 76th birthday (which is actually on 23rd December), the 20th anniversary of His Majesty’s accession to the throne and His Majesty’s 50th Wedding Anniversary.

 

　His Majesty Emperor Akihito ascended to the Chrysanthemum throne in 1989 following the death of his late father Emperor Hirohito.

 

　His Majesty Emperor Akihito, like the late Emperor Hirohito, is deeply admired and loved by the people of Japan for providing them with inspiring serenity and dignity.

 

　I have visited Japan on numerous occasions in the past 30 years, obviously in different capacities, as a young activist trying to inform, educate and win over official and popular sympathy for our struggle for self-determination, and later as Minister for Foreign Affairs. This was not an easy task back then. However, there was always much sympathy in certain circles towards the struggle of the people of Timor-Leste for freedom. An All-Party friendship group was created in the Japanese Diet with many active and vocal members. One of the oldest and most eloquent members of the group is current Speaker of the Diet, the Hon. Satsuki Eda. There were hundreds of Japanese activists championing the cause of Timor-Leste with a great spirit of self-sacrifice.

 

　The Japanese Media like the TV network NHK and mass circulation daily Asahi Shimbun and others always gave considerable sympathetic attention to Timor-Leste.

 

　Our two countries and peoples enjoy deep bonds built in times of war and peace; Timor-Leste was occupied by the Japanese Imperial forces during WWII and many Timorese died as a consequence of the occupation; so did many Japanese and Australian young men as the two forces clash on our soil.

 

　Since 1999 Japan has contributed generously to Timor-Leste’s nation-building, peace-building and development efforts, either bi-laterally in partnership with the government or through multi-lateral agencies like the UN, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

 

　One of the largest deployments ever of Japanese peace-keepers outside the country was to Timor-Leste (the first one was to Cambodia) was when an army engineer battalion was deployed here in 2002 as part of the UN peace-keeping mission.

 

　Only a few meters down the road are the Embassies of the People’s Republic of China and of the Republic of Korea. I will say a few words about these three great East Asian powers.

 

　Of the three, only Japan had attained modern industrialization level before World War II. Its two other neighbors, China and Korea were still struggling with under-development and extreme poverty, and suffered wars of aggression and occupation that caused immense suffering.

 

　The three East Asian nations are inextricably bounded through geography and history, through tragedy in times of poverty and war, and glory in times of peace and development.

 

　Japan, the Republic of Korea and China are nations with thousands of years of history, with rich and old traditions that have survived modernity.

 

　At some level they have overcome the rivalry and conflicts of the past but the scars, old and deep, have at times resurfaced, with emotional intensity, clouding their present relationship and weaken what could be a great and unique tri-lateral partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia region.

 

　With a combined population of 1,5 billion people and GDP of more than US$13 trillion, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China, the three neighbors of proud and hard-working people, fiercely competitive and creative, are the economic engine of our region and of much of the world.

 

　And if on top of the three we add India which borders China, the four economies dwarf any other in the world. The numbers, in population (2,5 billion pople) and GDP, are staggering. But the question mark is, can these Asian giants bury the sad and tragic chapters of their past, resolve border disputes, and turn economic competitiveness and rivalry into partnership, harness their cash reserves, gold, science and technology, their best minds, and rescue the legions of poor in Asia, save our degraded environment and forge a new Century of peace and prosperity?

 

　Japan is the only country ever, the first and I pray the last, to have experienced the impact of the atomic bomb. More than six decades after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the physical and mental scars, diseases and birth defects caused by radiation, continue to be felt and impact on Japanese lives. Every time I visit the Hiroshima War Museum, I am numbed and shaken by the depiction of the horrors on ground zero and beyond.

 

　Today’s Japan is a peaceful and pacifist country and because of its own tragic history during WWII, more than any other country, it has been in the forefront of campaign for nuclear disarmament. We, in Timor-Leste, stand with our Japanese friends and all those in the world who want to see an end to all weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical and biological.

 

　Today is a special day, His Majesty the Emperor of Japan’s birthday, the 20th anniversary of His Majesty’s accession to the throne and the 50th anniversary of the Emperor’s marriage. And this day is unique for us in Timor-Leste as we are gathering on the grounds of the newly-built Embassy of Japan, a magnificent complex of several buildings with modern and functional design, contributing significantly to the beautification of our capital City.

 

　Pleas raise your glasses and join me in a toast for the good health and long life of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.

 

　Domo arigato!