Address by Her Majesty the Queen at the state dinner on the occasion of the state visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, May 23, 2000.
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Your Majesty,
It gives my husband and me great pleasure to receive you and Empress Michiko this evening and together with my family to welcome you to the Netherlands. Your coming here brings to mind the State visit that I paid to Japan with our eldest son in nineteen ninety-one. We remember with gratitude the warm welcome you gave us on that occasion. During that visit we already had the opportunity to devote ample attention to the many ties that exist between our countries and to the history we share.
Since then a new century has dawned. In many countries the transition to the twenty-first century was exuberantly celebrated. Yet not everywhere in the world is the same special significance attached to the Christian calendar. It is well known that Japan divides its history into dynastic periods. Twelve years ago your succession to the throne ushered in a new era: the Heisei period. Heisei can be translated as "Peace and Perfection". It is a concept that many would like to adopt as a motto for the future.
The difference in our calendars in no way hinders a joyous commemoration of four hundred years of relations between our countries. The duration of our relationship is unique in the history of Asia and Europe. When the first Dutchmen arrived in Japan in sixteen hundred, our country was still fully engaged in its struggle for independence. It is indicative of the entrepreneurial spirit of the time that Dutch ships were nevertheless sent off on such distant voyages. The story of our first encounter is in fact not without irony or tragedy. A flotilla of five vessels set out to find a new route to the treasures of the East. Though the aims of the expedition were commercial, the ships bore the exalted names Faith, Hope, Charity, Loyalty and Good Tidings. Despite these religiously inspired names, the voyage was far from blessed. The Loyalty was captured by the Portuguese, the Good Tidings by the Spanish, the Faith returned home empty-handed and the Hope was never heard of again. Viewed in this light, the fact that the Charity ran aground in Japan with only a handful of the crew surviving may be regarded if not as a triumph, then at least as a comparative success.
The beginning of Japanese-Dutch relations was therefore characterised by "charity" - in the sense of "love". But this is not quite in accordance with the truth. Commercial enterprise and relations between states are, after all, governed by other factors. The Dutch traders were allowed to stay in Japan, but solely on the island of Deshima and under strict supervision. Their presence was to last for two centuries. In spite of their enforced isolation, a lively exchange of ideas came about because there were keen minds on both sides who forged links and acted as brokers of knowledge and learning. Deshima became a centre of information with a wide radius which also brought the Netherlands and Europe as a whole in contact with Japan's hitherto completely unknown culture. In this way our countries have influenced and inspired each other for four hundred years.
The European expansion that took the Dutch to the Far East also led to a lengthy presence of the Netherlands in the Indies. As a result, in the course of the last century, our nations encountered each other in a very different and dramatic way. The Second World War brought about a deep division between our peoples. A great number of Dutch -civilians and soldiers - were its victims. Many lost their lives, others will bear forever the marks of their experiences. However, the people of Japan were also profoundly afflicted by the horrifying consequences of this bitter conflict, particularly in the last, terrible days of the war. The memories of the suffering endured in the war years do not fade: they return again and again. It is therefore better not to shy away from the confrontation with the past, even though courage is needed to face up to this painful chapter of our shared history. However, our vision of the future may not be clouded by that past. As a wise man once said: "The function of history is not just to remember, but to give meaning to the future".
We have to think about that future. When Europe first learned about Japan, it found a land of wonders, a culture quite unlike its own. Although great differences between our societies still exist, industrial and economic developments have given our countries ever more areas of similarity. In both Japan and the Netherlands population density places a heavy burden on nature and the environment. The standard of living is high and life expectancy long. The ageing of the population and the increasing need for care are subjects of urgent concern. Our young people live in a more open world than in the past. Travel has become easier and the knowledge of other cultures and customs is more widespread. Economic processes tend to an ever greater extent to take place at a global level; as a result, the countries of the world are becoming more dependent on one another.
In spite of these global developments, bilateral relations retain their importance. This is certainly true of Japan and the Netherlands. Substantial mutual investments bear witness to the trust we have in each other's economy. Cultural and scientific organisations, such as the Siebold House in Leiden and the Japanese-Netherlands Institute in Tokyo are sustained and supported by government and the private sector in both countries. In numerous fields exchanges take place between students and academics, artists and writers. Many Japanese musicians play in our orchestras; modern Japanese architecture is greatly admired in our country.
Your Majesty,
The Netherlands is becoming ever more integrated in Europe. Our relations nowadays are therefore frequently conducted in a European context. At international level, our experience has shown that our countries often think alike on important issues. Japan plays a significant role in the region and in the world, and particularly in the United Nations it makes a major contribution to development cooperation and in areas such as the environment and disarmament. These are all impressive achievements which the Netherlands applauds.
May I invite all those present to join me in a toast to your health, Your Majesty, to that of Empress Michiko, to the members of your family and to a prosperous future for the Japanese people with whom we are celebrating a unique, shared history that has lasted four hundred years.