SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER AT A BANQUET GIVEN BY
JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER. 17th June, 1976.
" Mr. Prime Minister let me begin by saying that I and My
Government place very great value on this visit to one of
the truly significant countries in the world.
Japan is, in many important respects, a unique country. in
the last quarter century its economy has expanded at a rate
unprecedented in human history. While becoming one of the
two most technologically advanced countries in the world, Japan
has, to a remarkable extent, preserved its distinct cultural
heritage. Living in one of the world's most tense international situationsin
North East Asia Japan has renounced nuclear weapons.
It has renounced them, although it is as well equipped to
produce them as anyone else, and though the other three great
powers involved have them.
Mr. Prime Minister Australian contacts with Japan stretch
back over a century, from the time of the entry of modern Japan
into the outside world. It has to be conceded that these
contacts were of a limited and simple kind.
In the 1860' s for exam . ple, two enterprising gentlemen arrived in
Japan from Australia. After a successful entry into the publishing
business, one of them became the recognised father of the
vernacular press in Japan.
The first Japanese arrivals in Australia came somewhat later,
but by the end of the 19th century some thousands of Japanese
were engaged in the pearl, b~ che-de-mer and sugar industries
in Australia's north.
Things have moved on a long way since those days, Mr. Prime
Minister. The occasion which brings us together here tonightthe
signature of a Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation between
our two countries testifies to this.
Mr. Prime Minister, to speak in terms of celebrating an end or of
welcoming a beginning has a pleasantly dramatic ring.-Yet this
treaty also represents neither an end nor a beginning, but a most
significant step forward in a continuing relationship. It did not
spring suddenly out of the ground, but emerged naturally from a
relationship which has grown and prospered over the last two
decades. It was brought into being by the mutual recognition ./ 2
that the relationship has now reached the stage where certain
things need to be formally recognised and other dimensions need
to be added to that relationship.
Today, Mr. Prime Minister, our two countries have become, by
very different routes, two of the very few stable and prosperous
democracies in the world.
Our prosperity owes more than a little to the mutually beneficial
trade which has developed between us. We know that you are
concerned, as we-certainly are, to create the conditions of
dependability and predictability which will allow this trade to
develop and thrive further. These conditions have not always been
present in the past, and it is one of the main purposes of the
treaty to put this right and to keep it right. I believe we
both clearly recognise that the mutual benefits accruing from
the steady growth of this relationship,, on an equitable basis,
far outweigh any short-term unilateral advantage.
Mr. Prime Minister, both our societies are free societies,
committed to democratic institutions and the rule of law. We
both believe in the efficacy of private enterprise. We both
live by trade. We both have a common concern to promote and
maintain the stability which trade requires.
For all these reasons, both our countries have found alliance
with the United States, the world's major democratic power, to
be natural and congenial. The Australian Government believes
that a continuation of the American role in our region is a key
element in the maintenance of peace and stability. We also believe
that the best way of ensuring that continuation is for us to
demonstrate that we ourselves take the security and stability
of the region seriously. We are acting on, and we shall continue
to act on, that belief.
Mr. Prime Minister the dimension of our relationship which
usually receives the greatest attention is, quite understandably,
the economic one. We shall be discussing that at length during
the next day or so, and I shall be speaking about it publicly.
So I would like to spend the remainder of my time tonight looking
at the cultural aspect of our relationship.
I know that you will agree with me that if our relationship is
to deepen and our co-operation to extend, we must take steps to
understand each other better not merely at the level of
government but at every level. There are real differences of
cultural, and, unfortunately, real areas of mutual ignorance to
be overcome.
Yours is a very ancient culture. one of your great sources of
strength has been your capacity to maintain its continuity and
vitality while experiencing one of the most remarkable transitions
in recorded history. Your success in moving from a feudal and
self-absorbed society to a modern and outward-turning one with
unprecedented pace and purpose was largely due to it.
Our culture is also a vital and, I believe, a creative one. But
it is much younger and has had to struggle to emerge from the
shadow of a great European culture, to establish its own identity. e. / 3
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It is not easy for two such societies to understand each other
fully. But until we break down the national stereotypes which
exist and replace them with genuine understanding, our
relationship will not achieve its full potential. Our recognition
of this truth is embodied in the Australia-Japan Agreement
which was signed in 1974.
It is also the premise underlying the establishment of the
Australia-Japan Foundation by my Government this year.
The Foundation's activities will focus on personal contact
spanning the whole spectrum of society language, history,
social and political ideas and institutions, the arts, economic
and industrial organisations.
It would be a mistake to expect quick, spectacular results
from these ventures. But their long term benefits will, I am
sure, be of very great importance.
Greater understanding cannot guarantee agreement, but it can
remove many unnecessary disagreements and make existing agreement
more meaningful.
These new initiatives by my Government will go hand in hand
with the fast growing interest of Australia's younger generation
in Japan and Japanese culture. Australia already has a
higher percentage of students learning Japanese than other
countries. I have long believed that there was great value to
us both in encouraging the learning of the Japanese language in
Australia. While I was Minister for Education I took an interest in the
establishment of a committee to prepare proposals for the
development of the teaching of Asian languages in Australian
schools. I am pleased to say that there are now over 6,000
students studying the Japanese language in Australian schools
a six-fold increase since 1969.
Mr. Prime Minister you have been generous in your time. We
will be having ample discussions on these and other matters
during my visit. Let me therefore conclude by again thanking
you and your Government most warmly for your hospitality and
again stressing the very great importance we attach to our
friendship with you and the Japanese people".
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