Your Majesties,
We are delighted to have you here. My wife, Queen Máxima, and I would like to extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to you. We are thankful for the deep friendship between our families. And for the unique and historic bond between our countries.
A bond that was forged 426 years ago, in the year 1600. Through Love.
‘De Liefde’ – The Love – was the name of the Dutch galleon that reached the Japanese island of Kyushu on the 19th of April 1600, after a perilous voyage filled with hardships. And it was with love that the local inhabitants welcomed and nursed the sick and weakened crew members. A remarkable start to an extraordinary friendship.
Tonight we celebrate that friendship, with appreciation for the immense mutual benefits centuries of collaboration have brought: prosperity, knowledge, innovation and cultural exchange.
Our friendship also has its intense moments… like last Sunday’s thrilling encounter between our national football teams. It was truly special and a great pleasure to have shared this experience together.
Oranda no kakehashi. The Dutch bridge. This metaphor was used to describe our country all those centuries ago when we were your window to the Western world.
In turn, our own horizons were greatly broadened through our connection with you!
We Dutch have always been fascinated by your country and your culture. In the 19th century, Japan was a rich source of inspiration for one of our national icons, Vincent van Gogh.
This great curiosity endures to this very day, captivating both young and old. In countless children’s bedrooms, Pokémon albums share a shelf with books about Miffy. Anime and manga are widely popular in our country, and sushi has found its way to our dinner tables. Since the 20th century, generations of Dutch families have surrounded themselves with Japanese-made electronics. And for a long time we’ve been driving around in Japanese cars. What’s more, growing numbers of Dutch visitors are enchanted by the beauty of your country and have taken Japan to their hearts. Our family is no exception – we cherish fond memories of our visits.
Those wishing to experience this beauty closer to home need look no further than the Japanese garden at Clingendael near The Hague. Or the Japan Museum SieboldHuis in Leiden, where earlier this year visitors gathered around the beautiful prints by Kawase Hasui. Books on Japan frequently grace our bestseller lists, as some of our guests here this evening know first-hand.
We are thankful for the friendship and for the interest in each other’s culture that unite us. At the same time, we recognise that our shared narrative has not always been a happy one.
Our long, intertwined history includes a painful period that we cannot and must not overlook: the Second World War.
Lives were destroyed. Great suffering was inflicted on our citizens and soldiers, leaving deep wounds that have continued to impact following generations. In Japan too, people had to endure the dreadful consequences of the war, especially in its final phase.
Your Majesty, you and I were born many years after the Second World War. We are familiar with the suffering of that period only through the stories of those who lived through it. That’s why it is vital that these stories continue to be shared. So that we can learn from the past while working together on a future of reconciliation, peace and justice. The Japan-Netherlands Peace Exchange Program remains valuable to this mission.
By fully acknowledging the past, we create space for a shared future.
Speaking about that shared future instantly takes me back to my visit to Expo Osaka, Kansai last year. The event focused on how we can work together to address the challenges of our time, under the motto ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’.
Our countries face the same challenges in areas such as water management, climate change, demographic shifts and healthcare. And, as befits true friends, we turn to one another to find solutions.
Thirty years ago, Japan and the Netherlands signed an Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Today, that partnership has evolved, and we are working ever more closely on global security and defence. Just two days ago, the Dutch frigate De Ruyter arrived in Tokyo, following this spring’s deployment of Dutch F-35s in a joint exercise in your country. And Japan is deepening its cooperation with NATO, along with three other key countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Now, with the international legal order under severe strain, we recognise just how much we need each other as like-minded partners.
Our countries share core values. We are both committed to a healthy democracy, an open economy and a well-functioning state governed by the rule of law. We both champion the international legal order, a commitment that is very visible in The Hague - home to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
Both are headed by a Japanese president. And we are deeply honoured to have them with us this evening. Your Majesty, we also acknowledge the role your father played. For a decade he was a judge at the International Court of Justice, serving for a time as its president. He dedicated himself to the peaceful resolution of conflicts around the globe.
Japan and the Netherlands share a profound responsibility to defend and protect democracy and the rule of law, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our partner countries. How fortunate we are to complement and strengthen one another, anchoring these values from our respective continents.
Long gone are the days when we were connected only by that narrow wooden bridge between Deshima and the mainland. Today, our relationship is as all-encompassing as the sun’s path from East to West. Ours is an enduring friendship, built to last.
I would like to ask you all to raise your glasses with me.
Your Majesties, I wish you good health and happiness.
To the friendship between Japan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands!
Kanpai!