Centenary of Birth of Tokuma Utsunomiya and Kinkazu Saionji Marked in Beijing

On November 8, 2006 the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA) held a meeting in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of the renowned friendly Japanese personages Tokuma Utsunomiya and Kinkazu Saionji in the Great Hall of the People. State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan attended the meeting and spoke on the occasion. 150 Chinese and Japanese people including Song Jian, president of the CJFA, Wu Dawei, vice foreign minister, leading officials of the relevant organizations, the delegation of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA) led by its president Ikuo Hirayama, and family members and friends of Tokuma Utsunomiya and Kinkazu Saionji attended the commemorative meeting.

In his speech State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan said, Tokuma Utsunomiya was a statesman with foresight and sagacity. In 1954 after surmounting all obstacles, he visited China and built a friendship bridge for Japanese statesmen to contact China. He actively promoted the establishment of the Dietmen’s League for Japan-China Friendship, a trans-political parties dietmen’s organization, and made important contributions to the signing of the Memorandum on Japan-China Overall Trade and normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations. After the two countries normalized diplomatic relations, he served as president of the JCFA for 12 years, led and organized many rich and colourful activities of friendly exchanges and made painstaking efforts to promote the development of Japan-China relations and enhance friendship between the two peoples. He was respected and loved by both Chinese and Japanese people.

Kinkazu Saionji was a renowned Japanese social activist, a fighter for peace and a pioneer of the cause of Japan-China friendship. Coming from a prominent family, in his youth, he went round the world fighting against the aggressive war launched by fascists and exposing the crimes of invasion of China committed by the Japanese militarists. After the Second World War, he dedicated all his energies to the cause of safeguarding world peace and developing Japan-China friendship. Since 1958 he lived in Beijing for 12 years, and devoted himself to publicizing China among the Japanese people and did a great deal of useful work for enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the Japanese and Chinese people and normalizing Japan-China diplomatic relations. Premier Zhou Enlai praised him as an “unofficial ambassador”. We affectionately called him as revered Mr. Sai. His deep friendship with the Chinese leaders Premier Zhou Enlai, Vice Premier Chen Yi, Guo Moruo, Deng Yingchao and Liao Chengzhi became a much-told tale of China-Japan friendship.

Tang Jiaxuan continued, Mr. Utsunomiya and Mr. Saionji spared no efforts, defied hardships and dangers and dedicated all their lifetime to promote Japan-China friendship. Their outstanding achievements and lofty spirit will be forever remembered by the people of the two countries and written into the annals of Japan-China friendship.

Tang pointed out, China and Japan are close neighbours separated by only a strip of water, and the two peoples have kept friendly contacts for 2,000 years. In modern times, the two countries have experienced an unfortunate period. In 1972 through unremitting efforts of the governments and far-sighted personages of various circles of the two countries China and Japan normalized diplomatic relations. In the past 34 years, Sino-Japanese relationship has seen an unprecedentedly great development and become one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world, which has not only greatly benefited the people of the two countries, but also made important contributions to peace, stability and development in Asia and the world at large.

As a result of the concerted efforts made by the two countries, not long ago, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a successful visit to China, breaking the 5-year long political deadlock of Sino-Japanese relations and putting bilateral relations on the track of normal development. China is willing to work together with Japan in the spirit of “taking history as a mirror and looking to the future” and in line with the principles set in the three political documents including the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, and promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields in an all round way and strive to realize the lofty goal of peaceful coexistence, friendship for generations, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development.

Tang Jiaxuan said, people-to-people friendship is a fine tradition and unique advantage of Sino-Japanese relations, and has played an irreplaceable important role in normalizing and developing post-War Sino-Japanese relations. Now Sino-Japanese relationship is at an important stage of carrying forward the cause and forging ahead into the future. Tang hoped that various circles of both sides would grasp the opportunity, vigorously carry out rich and colourful exchanges and extensively sow seeds of friendship so as to hand down the banner of China-Japan friendship from generation to generation, continue to push Sino-Japanese friendly and cooperative relations to a new height and depth and promote a healthy and steady development ofSino-Japanese good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation.

Ikuo Hirayama, president of the JCFA, recalled Tokuma Utsunomiya and Kinkazu Saionji’s contacts with China, and said, in the years before the two countries normalized diplomatic relations, it was thanks to the efforts made by personages of insight like Mr. Utsunomiya and Mr. Saionji that nongovernmental contacts between the two countries were maintained. After the normalization of diplomatic relations, they worked even harder and carefully cultivated friendly relations between the two countries. Particularly when there appeared twists and turns, they always came out boldly. Their lifetime pursuit of maintaining world peace and Japan-China friendship is also the important historical mission for everyone of us engaged in the cause of Japan-China friendship.

Kazuturu Saionji, the eldest son of Kinkazu Saionji, said, the core of my father’s aspiration for world peace was unshakable Japan-China friendship. My father felt frustrated that though he had done his utmost, he failed to stop Japan from launching the aggressive war; and therefore after the War, he was determined to dedicate the rest of his life to the peace movement and the cause of Japan-China friendship. The pioneers of both Japan and China made painstaking efforts to carry out exchanges between the two peoples and improve relations between the two countries; they went through an extraordinary course. He said, history can neither be denied nor distorted, but we can learn experience and lessons from history. The period of 23 years from the founding of new China to the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations is an important period in the history of Japan-China relations. He stated, if the younger generation of the two countries understands the history of these 23 years, he believes that their feelings towards each other’s country and people will change considerably.

Kazuturu Saionji said, we feel happy at the improvement of the relations between the two countries. However, to accomplish the great cause of building a solid Japan-China friendly relations is still a great task and there is still a long way to go. He stressed, we should carry out the behest of our forerunners and do our utmost for Japan-China friendship.

Song Jian, president of the CJFA, Yang Zhengya, former Chinese ambassador to Japan, Wang Xiaoxian, vice president of the CJFA, and Kyuzo Utsunomiya, the eldest son of Tokuma Utsunomiya, also spoke on the occasion and recalled the important contributions made by the two sages of the past to the cause of world peace and China-Japan friendship.