Media Library

Speeches

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE IRELAND JAPAN ASSOCIATION

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE IRELAND JAPAN ASSOCIATION SATURDAY, 30 JANUARY 1999

It is a great pleasure for me to be here this evening at the annual dinner of the Ireland Japan Association. I would like to particularly thank Michael Darcy for his kind invitation.

I am aware that we have a number of Japanese scholars in our midst who have developed a great love and aptitude for the Irish language. To you, I extend a particular word of congratulations, for you have built a very special bridge between our two countries. Molaim sibh agus tá súil agam go n-eireoidh chomh maith céanna leis na hÉireannaigh agus iad ag foghlaim Seapáinise. I have no doubt that Don Corbett, the recipient of this year’s bursary award, will be a wonderful Ambassador for Ireland during his year in Japan and I wish him a very educational and enjoyable year there.

This occasion gives me an opportunity to reflect on the links between our two countries in the cultural, political and economic spheres. These links are not new. Indeed back in the last century, an Irishman by the unlikely name of Lafcadio Hearn, took the Japanese name Koizumi Yakomo and became an authority on Japanese life and lore. I believe that even today, scholars of Japanese folklore consult his books on old Japan.

It is well known that WB Yeats was greatly influenced by the Noh plays of Japan and wrote a poem on receiving the gift of a Japanese sword. Japan has had a Yeats society since the 1930’s, as well as societies devoted to other major Irish writers.

These cultural links continue to grow and thrive today. The Japanese author, Oe Kenazburo, when receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994, quoted from the speech that Yeats had made when he, in turn, was granted the prize back in 1923. The fact that the poems of our most recent Nobel Prize winner, Seamus Heaney, appeared in excellent Japanese translations before he won the award, says much about the appreciation of Irish literature in Japan.

This exchange has not all been one-way. We in Ireland are very proud of the marvellous collections in the Chester Beatty library, which I’m sure would be the envy of many Japanese museums. In the performing arts, we had the pleasure of a performance in Dublin last year by the famous Kodo drummers from Sado island and, just a few weeks ago, we were delighted to welcome a Japanese theatre group to the Third International Theatre Symposium in Trinity College. I was enthralled by the power of the silent drama as were the entire audience, among them many deaf who found the power of the mime completely overwhelming.

Recently, I had the honour of accepting the credentials of Japan’s first female Ambassador to Ireland. I know that she, like her predecessors, will continue to enhance the ties of friendship that link our two countries. Since we first established diplomatic relations back in 1957, the excellent relations between Ireland and Japan have been strengthened by an exchange of visits at state and official level. Most memorably, Ireland had the great honour in 1985 of a visit by the then Crown Prince, now Emperor Akihito.

These links have, of course, very tangible benefits for our two countries – but particularly Ireland - in terms of trade and development. We have long appreciated the level of Japanese investment in Ireland, which now ranges over 60 companies employing more than 4,000 Irish people. No doubt this can be attributed in part to our location as a gateway to Europe, as well as the undoubted skills and energy of our people. But I believe it also says something about the compatibility of our two cultures. We have long admired the energy and resourcefulness of the Japanese people. From post-war devastation, they have forged an economic miracle over the past 50 years, which is the envy of the world. Yet they did so, not through abandoning their traditions and ethos, but through harnessing them in pursuit of a better life.

Ireland, too, has experienced its own economic miracle over the past number of years. We have become a modern, technological society. Japan demonstrates that this need not be at the expense of our traditional close bonds of family and community - that these very traditions, which are the hallmark of our uniqueness, can survive alongside and in harmony with economic success. I hope this is a message that we will continue to listen to and learn from in the years ahead.

In spite of Japan’s recent economic difficulties, it remains the second largest economy in the world, and has one of the highest standards of living. It has become a market of growing importance for Irish companies. Over the last decade, trade between Japan and Ireland has trebled in monetary terms and Japan is now our sixth largest trading partner. Many Irish companies, in sectors as diverse as construction, aviation, information technology, fashion and consulting, have set up business in Japan or established links with Japanese companies.

If there is one key factor which is essential for these links to grow and thrive, it is a mutual understanding and appreciation of each other’s culture and ethos. That is why programmes such as the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, which has taken Irish teachers to every prefecture in Japan, and the FÁS graduates programme which has placed over 400 Irish graduate in Japanese companies since 1984, are such a valuable resource. On a lighter note, I have no doubt that the seven Irish pubs which have opened in Japan, with a further two under construction, have also underpinned greater understanding and friendship in a very real and relaxed way. Their arrival in Japan coincided with the arrival of my husband’s young cousin there! His new wife is Japanese so we have our own family connections with Japan.

The Ireland Japan Association has also played a key role in forging and strengthening these ties in the economic, trade and cultural spheres. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the valuable work which you have undertaken, to congratulate you on your achievements in bringing Ireland and Japan closer together and to wish you every success in the years ahead.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh!