At the Reception to Celebrate the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor

Hon. Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of the Parliament
Hon. Ministers, Members of Parliament, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
On May 1^st this year, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince Naruhito acceded to the Throne as the 126^th Emperor of Japan. Upon the accession of His Majesty the Emperor, the new Japanese era “Reiwa” commenced on the same day.
 
I am honored to host this reception this evening to celebrate the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor, and would like to express my sincere gratitude and warm welcome to all of you for gracing this auspicious occasion with your kind presence.
 
Japan and Sri Lanka have maintained extremely cordial and friendly relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1952.  Japan is deeply indebted to Sri Lanka for its helping Japan rejoin the international community after World War II at the San Francisco Peace Conference in 1951, where Mr. J.R. Jayawardena, then representative of this country, appealed for reconciliation, quoting the Lord Buddha’s words “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but by love.”  Since then, the relationship between Japan and Sri Lanka has grown from strength to strength in wide-ranging areas.
 
In Japan, the reigning period of each Emperor is given special appellation. Preceding the current “Reiwa” era was the “Heisei” era.  I am pleased to note that, during the 30 years of “Heisei” era, the Japan-Sri Lanka relationship   made a great progress, which culminated in the declaration of “Comprehensive Partnership” between our two countries on the occasion of the Honorable Prime Minister Wickramasinghe’s visit to Japan in 2015.  This was one of the most significant milestones in our diplomatic relationship.
 
During the “Heisei” era, however, both Sri Lanka and Japan suffered a great deal from devastating Tsunami in 2004 and 2011 respectively.  Our mutual humanitarian assistance on those occasions clearly demonstrated true friendship nurtured between the peoples of our two countries.  The people of Japan will always remember very warm and generous support by the Government and people of Sri Lanka when Japan was hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.  As the saying goes, truly “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.
 
Such spirit of true friendship, once again, was manifested after the heart-rendering Easter Sunday terror attacks when Japan expressed its unwavering solidarity with the Sri Lankan people, as was shown in the two recent high-level visits by the Honorable State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms. Toshiko Abe and Dr. Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister.  Japan strongly condemns the attacks and is ready to do its utmost to support Sri Lanka’s effort to fight against terrorism.  In addition, we are firmly committed to continuously assisting Sri Lanka’s efforts for peace and prosperity in response to the genuine needs of the Sri Lankan people.  The Light Rail Transit project, which was officially launched earlier today, and the Eastern Container Terminal project in the Colombo port are the most recent salient demonstration of our commitment.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
The Imperial Family has had close associations with Sri Lanka, as symbolized by the honorable visit to this beautiful island nation in 1981 by then Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess, now Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress Emeriti.  Subsequently, Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino and Her Imperial Highness Princess Tsuguko visited Sri Lanka in 1992 and 2013 respectively. 
 
His Majesty the Emperor Naruhito has been fostering Japan’s friendship with the international community. His Majesty is keenly interested in international affairs, particularly in water issues.  His Majesty made a keynote address in several international fora on water, including the United Nations Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters, the theme very relevant  both to Japan and Sri Lanka.       
 
The new Japanese era’s name “Reiwa”, which originates from the oldest compilation of Japanese poetry of more than 1200 years ago, literally means “beautiful harmony” and contains the meaning of “culture coming into being and flourishing when people bring their hearts and minds together in a beautiful manner”.  On the occasion of the First Audience after the Accession to the Throne, His Majesty the Emperor stated, (quote) “I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world.” (end of quote) With this in mind and with your understanding and help, I would like to solemnly renew my firm resolve to work towards further promoting the friendly relationship between Japan and Sri Lanka.
 
Before closing, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to many Sri Lankan friends, including H.E. President, Hon. Prime Minister, Hon. Speaker and Hon. Opposition Leader, as well as friends from the diplomatic community, for visiting us to sign a Congratulatory Book to celebrate the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor in May. Today we re-open the Congratulatory Book outside this hall. I would appreciate it if you could also sign this book in celebration of the Enthronement.
 
Last but not least, I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Hon. Speaker Mr. Karu Jayasuriya, who has readily accepted gracing today’s reception as the Chief Guest.  I am pleased to note that in 2016 the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun was conferred on Hon. Jayasuriya for his dedication to strengthening our mutual ties for the past many years.  Thank you truly, Hon. Jayasuriya, for your great friendship.
 
Concluding my remarks, I would like to invite you to raise your glasses;
 

• To congratulate Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress,
• To wish Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress Emeriti continued good health and prosperity,
• To wish for the furtherance of Japan - Sri Lanka friendly relations in the new era,
• And to wish all the best for all present here,
• "Kanpai!"