Remarks of Consul-General Hidenobu Sobashima at the Emperor’s Birthday Function on 5 December 2012
The Honourable Ted Baillieu, Premier of Victoria,
The Honourable James Merlino, Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in Victoria, representing the Leader of the Opposition,
The Honourable Richard Dalla-Riva, Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and Minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade,
The Honourable Martin Dixon, Minister for Education,
The Honourable Tim Holding, Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Industry,
Other Shadow Ministers,
Mr Brad Battin and Mr Steve Herbert, Co-Chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Japan in Victoria,
Other Members of the Pariliament of Victoria,
The Honourable Justice Phillip Priest, representing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria,
Your Excellency Murray McLean, Chairman of the Australia-Japan Foundation, and Former Ambassador of Australia to Japan,
Your Excellency William Fisher, State Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia,
Mayors and City Councillors,
Mr Antun Babic, Consul-General of Croatia and Dean of the Consular Corps in Melbourne and Colleagues of the Consular Corps,
Other Dignitaries and Friends whom I have failed to mention,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honour and pleasure to welcome you all here tonight to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
On the 23rd of this month, His Majesty the Emperor will be 79 years old.
Including the visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress as the Crown Prince and Princess in 1973, a number of the members of the Japanese Imperial Family visited Melbourne and Australia, which, I believe, has underpinned the strong bonds of friendship between Japan and Australia.
Today I would like to thank Ikebana International for the flowers, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Melbourne for the exhibition “Made in Victoria” and the Japanese brewers for their beers, just like previous years.
For your information, we also have different kinds of Sake for your tasting, and large quantities of Makizushi, among other food items.
I am proud of the long and important relationship between Australia and Japan:
Japan had been Australia’s largest trading partner from 1970 to 2008 for nearly 40 years, and remains the largest source of trade surplus for Australia, with a Free Trade Agreement or Economic Partnership Agreement under negotiation between our two countries.
The sister-state/sister-city arrangements between Australia and Japan are 109, the largest for Australia.
The Japanese language is the most learned foreign language in Australia, as about 280 thousand Australians are learning it.
Under these circumstances, the Governments of Japan and Australia are developing a Strategic Partnership, based on the shared fundamental values such as democracy, freedom and respect for human rights, and covering all areas including security, economy and culture.
Last month in Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda congratulated Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Australia’s election to the Security Council of the United Nations, and with respect to a Free Trade Agreement, expressed his intention to examine the issues of mutual interest with a view to its early conclusion.
The two leaders agreed to continue to cooperate in various fields.
Thus we expect more between Australia and Japan.
In Victoria, it was my honour and privilege to host a one year anniversary ceremony of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami last March.
We enjoyed the attendance of the Governor, the Premier and a large number of dignitaries and generous people - many of them are also present here tonight - who had offered sympathy, support and solidarity to the affected people in Japan, for which we were really grateful.
The affected areas are on their way to recovery.
I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude to you once again.
Thank you very much.
This year we had a number of high-level visits between Victoria and Japan.
February: the visit of the Parliamentary Friends of Japan in Victoria to Japan.
May: the visit of the Victorian Parliament Delegation, including both the President and Speaker, to Japan.
Also in May, the visit of Minister Richard Dalla-Riva to Japan.
July: the visit of the Honourable Hideaki Ohmura, Governor of Aichi, the Japanese Sister-Prefecture of the State of Victoria, to Victoria.
We also saw sister-city functions of Frankston, Whitehorse, Warrnambool, Mildura and Melbourne, among other cities, with their Japanese sister-cities.
As for the business relations, while the membership of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Melbourne is smaller than that in Sydney, I suppose that their contributions to the economy including the employment may be larger here.
Please have a look at the “Made in Victoria” exhibition there.
Last month in Melbourne we had the 6th biannual Conference of the National Federation of Australia-Japan Societies, held in Victoria for the first time, as well as the National Symposium of Australian teachers of Japanese, entitled “Japanese Language Education 2012”, both with the participants from all over Australia.
Two weeks ago I attended the 2012 Language Assistants Appreciation and Farewell Ceremony to meet many young Japanese teachers of Japanese who showed their satisfaction with their accomplishments in Victoria.
When I attended in September the 43rd annual Japanese Language Speech Contest Victorian State Final, I was impressed by the quality of the speeches of the contestants.
Their Japanese was not necessarily perfect but easily understandable, and what impressed me more was that their messages were clear.
They delivered what they considered in Japanese effectively.
They are promising young Australians with the knowledge of the Japanese language.
These are just certain examples of the outcomes of the studies of Japanese language and various aspects of Japan undertaken here in Victoria from primary schools to universities.
Certainly we welcome the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, where Japanese is designated as one of the 4 priority foreign languages, among others.
With the implementation of the Asian Century White Paper, we expect more between Australia and Japan, and more between Victoria and Japan.
From Victoria to Japan, we are now processing applications of candidates for the JET Program, that is the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, for the assistance of the English teaching in Japan, a long-standing program existing for 26 years, having built thousands of bridges between Japan and Australia.
As for the Japanese culture, we have annual major Japanese Festivals in February, May and November in Melbourne, showing various cultures of Japan from traditional to contemporary, and currently the 16th Japanese Film Festival is under way in Melbourne, with the record number of 45 films, from 29 November to 9 December.
Regarding the Japanese arts, in October this year within the NGV, the Pauline Gandel Gallery of Japanese Art was opened:
The first ever full-fledged gallery of Japanese arts in Australia, worthy of celebration for many years.
I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation once again to Mrs Pauline Gandel and Mr John Gandel who are present here.
Thank you very much.
In connection with the ranking of Melbourne as the world’s most liveable city, this year for the second year in a row which we should all celebrate wholeheartedly, I repeatedly said on various occasions, and I am going to say this again now that perhaps the activities of Japanese companies with their Australian partners and the cultural programs organized by Japanese residents with the participation of Australians here are also contributing to this liveability, that is the world’s best, economically and culturally, in this multicultural society.
With the developments I have mentioned, and more to come between Japan and Victoria, I hope that these Japanese contributions will help consolidate the status of Melbourne as the world’s most liveable city.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank you once again for joining us tonight in the celebration of the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
I wish all of you present here, continued good health and happiness.
Having said this, may I now request you to charge your glasses, so that I may propose a toast to the Queen and the people of Australia.
Are you ready?
“To the Queen and the people of Australia!”
Thank you.