PRESIDENT’S SPEECH AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB OF JAPAN, 24 FEBRUARY 1995
PRESIDENT'S SPEECH AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB OF JAPAN, 24 FEBRUARY 1995
It is a great honour for me to pay a State Visit to Japan, at the invitation of Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress. It is indeed a privilege to be received in this beautiful and most impressive country.
I was deeply moved and saddened by the earthquake which so tragically struck the town of Kobe and surrounding area just one month ago. The deaths of several thousand of your countrymen, the pain and suffering of an entire community, the devastation were overwhelming. I wish to convey to the Japanese people, today once again, my own deep sympathy and that of the Irish people at this difficult time.
I am making this visit to Japan at a time when relations between our two countries, having taken root, are poised to branch out and blossom, and it is my earnest hope that it will strengthen these ties.
The outstanding event of my official visit to Japan as Head of State has been my contact with Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress. I would like to reiterate my deep gratitude to Their Majesties for the gracious hospitality which they and the Government have extended to me and to my husband and party.
Ireland is a trading nation and Japan is our second largest trading partner outside the European Union. Total trade between our two countries is now worth more than $2 billion a year and prospects for further success are bright.
Japan is also an important source of investment for Ireland. In the fierce competition world-wide to attract internationally mobile investment, Ireland's highly educated and motivated young workers have often given the country an edge. The Industrial Development Authority of Ireland (IDA Ireland), which is mandated by the Government to encourage and to assist foreign companies to invest in Ireland, has been active in Japan for 22 years. Today, there are some 60 Japanese companies established in Ireland and thus we know well the value of quality employment by a Japanese company. We hope to secure more Japanese investment in the future - in manufacturing through our special partnership programmes, in financial services through the successful role of the Dublin International Financial Services Centre and in new project initiatives such as the Euro-Technopole scheme in Shannon.
I spoke earlier of a significant increase in contact between Ireland and Japan. The steady growth in the number of Japanese who include Ireland in their itinerary when visiting Europe is one important aspect of this contact. In growing numbers they are coming to see for themselves our ancient, green and quiet island at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and we are confident that we shall see even more Japanese visitors and, increasingly, Japanese repeat visitors coming to Ireland in the years ahead.
More Irish people, too, are experiencing life in Japan. They do this as undergraduates availing of university exchange programmes, as young professionals in Japanese corporations, as teachers of English. Some 900 Irish people live in Japan today, more than half of them under 30 years of age. Courses in Ireland which prepare young people for the Japan experience are in demand - two of our seven universities teach Japanese language and culture. Young Irish people are eager to encounter this country, which in their lifetime has led the world in many industrial fields while holding fast to its particular social consensus. Their exposure to Japanese business is an example of practical partnership between Ireland and Japan. Their own high calibre bodes well for future partnership in a range of areas.
Ireland's bilateral relationship with Japan must be seen in the context of our membership of the EU. Within the Union, Ireland strongly supports the development of closer relations between the EU and Japan based on the Joint Declaration of July 1991 which provides for continuous dialogue and annual Summits.
Ireland's Presidency of the EU, in the second half of next year, will overlap with an Intergovernmental Conference to review the Treaty on European Union. As the outcome of these negotiations will be decisive for the political and economic development of the continent of Europe in the years ahead, the Intergovernmental Conference will be important to Japan too.
Irish people are impressed that Japan is playing an increasingly significant role in international humanitarian affairs. They identify with and share Japan's strong commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and to nuclear and general disarmament. Ireland welcomes Japan's practical contribution to efforts to solve the problem of North Korea's nuclear potential.
As President of Ireland, it is important that I visit Hiroshima in this anniversary year. Following this Press Conference, I shall travel to Hiroshima to honour its role as a centre of peace and to affirm that the issue of nuclear weapons has a particular resonance for Irish people also.
Ireland and Japan share a strong commitment to the United Nations. I wish to pay tribute today to Japan's indispensable contribution to the United Nations as second largest contributor to the overall budget of the UN, and a most generous supporter of the major specialised agencies and organisations of the UN system.
By assuming a leading role in the UN mission to Cambodia, Japan helped to stabilise a situation which was critical for the stability of the whole South East Asia region. I am proud to say that, in that mission, Irish voluntary workers and peacekeepers played a part alongside the Japanese. Last October, when I visited Rwanda and the camps sheltering Rwandan refugees in neighbouring countries, I again saw the contribution of our two countries at work. I wish to commend the Japanese Government for its generous contribution to the special international relief operation to aid the Rwandan refugees.
This is a time of singular hope and opportunity for the people of the island of Ireland with the achievement of peace. We in Ireland greatly appreciate the support of the Japanese Government and people for our efforts to heal wounds on our island and to achieve a new beginning in relationships both on our island and with our neighbouring island, Britain. This support and encouragement counts for a great deal.
I have spoken at some length of the practical partnership that has developed between Ireland and Japan. But I want to emphasise that contact between our two countries has most often sprung up and flowered around cultural interests shared by individuals or small groups of Japanese and Irish people. Yeats and Joyce and Beckett enthusiasts in the two countries find ways to pursue a lively discourse. The work of contemporary Irish poets, some of it in the Irish language, has found its way on to university courses in this country. Traditional Irish music is a medium whose appeal some Japanese have already discovered alongside the significant Irish contribution to modern popular music. Through exchanges of art exhibitions, valuable connections have begun to develop and co-operation between relevant bodies is set to expand. Exposure to the Japanese aesthetic is gradually occurring in Ireland too.
One name invariably stands out as the point where Ireland and Japan meet, that of Lafcadio Hearn. He is to this day revered in Japan as Koizumi Yakumo, a profound and sympathetic interpreter of his adopted country. Later in my visit, I shall go to Matsue to visit the home of Lafcadio Hearn/Koizumi Yakumo. I look forward to experiencing the place in Japan which meant most to this gifted Irish man.
I want to express once again my very sincere thanks to Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress and to the Japanese Government for the warm welcome and generous hospitality which we have enjoyed on this State Visit to Japan. It has been my honour to invite Their Majesties to make a return visit to Ireland on a future occasion. Their visit in 1985 inspired a marvellous advance in relations between our two countries. My hope is that this State Visit to Japan will equally enlarge the friendship and goodwill between Ireland and Japan in the years ahead.
I thank you all for coming here today to hear my address to the National Press Club of Japan. I shall be happy to respond to questions.