Ocean Village Completion and Hand-Over Ceremony

Thank you, Ms. Kotaro.

Your Excellency, President Remengesau, citizens of Palau. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations as you celebrate the twenty-sixth anniversary of your independence.

Palau and Japan are like brothers. As the moon and the sun that are symbolically depicted on each of our flags, they are indispensable on this planet as are the relations of our two countries.

This important brother is now confronting serious threats such as ocean warming, acidification, pollution, depletion of marine resources that are equally a threat to the very existence of humankind. The responsibility for this aggravated marine environment rests with every nation and its people that have reaped benefits from the Mother Ocean. However, it is Palau and its neighboring island states that have always placed importance on coexistence with the ocean, that are the first to be negatively impacted.

I continue to transmit the message of the importance of passing on a healthy ocean to the future generations for thousand years and more. For that, Japan has shifted gears to a country that protects the world oceans from hitherto being protected by the ocean. As Japanese and above all as an important brother country, we will continue to face this threat to mankind together with Palau.

Palau will host Our Ocean conference in December this year under the leadership of President Remengeau to discuss global key ocean issues. As all of you know, President Remengesau is today the world’s most influential leader in ocean affairs. The conference would not have been possible without his leadership, and I firmly believe its great success. It gives me great satisfaction that we, The Nippon Foundation, have been a part of the preparation of the conference venue. We are delighted to announce the completion, with your cooperation, of the work of Ocean Village, and to hand over it to the people of Palau today coinciding with the twenty-sixth anniversary of your independence.

In closing, I would like to extend my deepest respects to the people of Palau for the great strides that you have taken over the past twenty-six years. I wish for the success of Our Ocean twenty twenty and for the everlasting prosperity of the Republic of Palau and of mankind.

Thank you very much, Arigatou.

＊This video message is available at The Nippon Foundation YouTube.