| |
Speech made by Ambassador Orita on the occasion of a St David's Day Luncheon
|
| On 26 February, Ambassador Orita attended the 20th Luncheon in Honour of St David at the House of Lords where he delivered the following speech entitled "Wales": |
26 February 2004
|
Lord Parry, My Lords, Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,
I feel very small in front of the Chinese ambassador and the US ambassador. Lord Parry mentioned in his opening speech about the huge population of the world represented at this luncheon. The population of Japan is very small; only 120 million!
I also feel small in front of Welsh people. Japanese Rugby teams are always defeated by Welsh teams! But don't underestimate Japan. Last October, the Japanese national Rugby Team, although defeated, made a very good match against the Scottish National Team.
I'd like to thank Lord Parry for kind words and for giving me the opportunity to be here in such distinguished company. Your kind invitation is a sign of the continuing friendship that exists between Wales and Japan.
I know that St. David's Day is a special day to OWelsh men and women everywhereO and I should say it is also a special day to all the friends of Wales, including me.
The values by which Saint David lived his life in the sixth century are O Kindness, Compassion and Respect for Others O I find the special Welsh hospitality and friendship I always enjoy whenever I visit Wales is based upon these values. The Emperor and Empress of Japan told me, before I came to UK as the ambassador, that they had been immensely impressed by the overwhelming hospitality in Cardiff during their State Visit to the UK in 1998.
Despite the geographical distance, Japan and Wales have enjoyed a close relationship for a considerable period of time. Welsh pioneers were at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution and when Japan underwent its own process of industrial development at the end of the 19th century, Welsh industry, centred on coal and steel, helped to foster the growing links between Japan and Wales.
The nature of the Welsh economy has changed over time. What has not changed is the Welsh spirit of innovation and ingenuity. An economy based on old heavy industries is being transformed into one driven by cutting-edge technologies in fields such as electronics, manufacturing and engineering.
Japanese companies continue to find Wales an attractive place to invest and do business. The partnership between Japanese business and the Welsh people has developed and strengthened over the last three decades, since the first Japanese companies came to Wales in the 1970s. There are now 60 Japanese firms and 1,300 Japanese nationals based in Wales. They have been most warmly welcomed in their respective localities, and I wish to express my deep gratitude to the Welsh people for this.
In Japan we are stepping up our own efforts to attract foreign investment. Prime Minister Koizumi has outlined plans to double foreign investment in Japan over the next five years. As we work to achieve this ambition, exchanging views between Japan and Wales on how to attract foreign business might be a possibility worth exploring. We would warmly welcome approaches from Welsh companies looking to invest in Japan.
Encouraging foreign tourists to visit Japan is a nother key aim of the Japanese Government. We are to start what we call O Visit Japan Campaign O We set our target of doubling the number of foreign visitors by 2010. Welsh visitors to Japan will find many things that remind them of home. The special features of Wales --- mountains, coastlines and castles and of course tunnels , as well as friendly and welcoming people --- are precisely the qualities that will welcome you in provincial areas of Japan. If you imagine Walsh scenery with Japanese samurai castles in stead of Welsh castle, Japanese temples and shrines in stead of churches and human beings in the fields in stead of sheep, it is Japanese scenery. And if we can raise the temperature by 7 degrees, and if we can put a series of O hot springs O, it is really Japan. We warmly invite you all to come to Japan and experience the fusion of landscapes, vibrant cities and traditional culture and Japanese food . I also try to encourage Japanese people to visit Wales. It is wonderful if we can find some kind of scheme encouraging visits of tourists both ways between Japan and Wales. There are already various projects under way in the area of natural beauty to bring Japan-Wales ties even closer. Last summer, I participated in the twinning ceremony held in Wales of sister forests of Japan and Wales -- Afan forest in Wales and Kurohime forest in Japan, and we look forward to exploring other such relationships in the near future.
I hope very much that the bond that exists between Japan and Wales will be further strengthened .
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, may I propose a toast to" Wales" ? -------" Wales" |
| Top |
| |
|
|
