Your Imperial Highness, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a privilege and an honour to be here today in your presence, in the prefecture and city of Nagasaki, on this ceremonial occasion, as part of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of bilateral relations between Japan and the Netherlands.
Yesterday it was 400 years ago that these relations commenced. Yesterday and today we also pay tribute to the pivotal role Nagasaki played during two of these four centuries; it was here in Nagasaki that the Dutch were allowed to reside, it was here in Nagasaki that a lively trade in material goods and a lively exchange of ideas took place. It was via Nagasaki that the Netherlands and Japan had such a profound influence on each other for such a long-time.
We commemorate the past not only for its own sake, but also because it gives us insight in our present situation and in our future challenges and opportunities.
In doing so we should not forget the dark pages in our common history during which we were adversaries, a period about which the Prime-ministers of our two countries recently spoke words of great wisdom. We should incorporate those pages in our commemoration so that we can come to terms with them and to be able to further renew and reinvigorate our special relationship. This is something I am sure the people of Nagasaki, who themselves have experienced their own suffering from the war, will understand.
Your presence here today, your Imperial Highness, at this ceremony and your patronage of these commemorations, is for us a token that Japan is striving to benefit from our common past as a solid foundation for expanding the already flourishing relations between our two countries. I am happy to assure you that this aspiration is shared by the Government and the people of the Netherlands.
To the authorities and people of Nagasaki I would like to express our sincere gratitude for their tremendous efforts to make the commemorations in their prefecture and city so very special indeed.
Thank you very much.