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Foreword by Maxime Verhagen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands |
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In 2008 and 2009 our two nations will be celebrating two milestones. The year 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, and in 2009 we will be commemorating the 400th anniversary of commercial relations, which date back to 1609, when Tokugawa Ieyasu issued an official trade permit to the Netherlands. Our rich history is actually even older than that! The stranding of the ship De Liefde off the coast of Oita in 1600 is part of the history curriculum in every Japanese school. The Netherlands’ status as Japan’s only ‘window to the West’ for over 200 years is also common knowledge. But did you know that for almost 20 years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, during the Napoleonic Wars, Dejima was the only place in the world where the Dutch flag flew? Japan and the Netherlands have not made the mistake of basking in former glory. Rather, we have continued to invest in our relationship to keep it up to date. Without forgetting the black chapter of war in our nations’ history, we are committed to cultivating a friendship informed by the present and focused on the future. The 2008-2009 celebrations aim to benefit Japanese-Dutch relations in the widest possible sense. Japan and the Netherlands have a great deal to offer each other, much more than commerce alone. We both stand to benefit from international exchanges in the fields of science and technology, the economy, diplomacy, culture and sport! The celebrations of the next two years will incorporate all these elements. It is our sincere hope that these celebrations will attract the interest and participation of people from both countries. I invite Japanese and Dutch citizens to join in the fun. I, for one, intend to visit Japan during the ‘Nederland in Japan’ years to take part in these unique festivities personally. Maxime Verhagen |
