Ambassador recalls warm Japan-Lanka ties, imperial visits and baby elephant gift

Japanese Ambassador Akio Isomata recently recalled former President JR Jayawardene’s 1951 speech at the San Francisco Peace Conference when he quoted the Buddha saying “Hatred ceases not byhatred but by love” and conveyed news of a baby elephant gifted to Japan 68-years ago alive at age 71 at the recently concluded AGM of the Sri Lanka-Japan Friendship Society held at the Sasakawa Hall in Colombo.

The event was attended by the members of the Lanka-Japan Friendship Society (LJFS), diplomats from the Japanese Embassy and members of the Japanese community in Sri Lanka. M.D (Tony) Saldin was formally re-elected as the19th President of the Society for a second term.

In his address, Ambassador Isomata who was the chief guest said that he had been overwhelmed by the out-pouring of welcoming messages, gestures and invitations he received soon after his arrival in Sri Lanka in late October.

He emphasized the decades of friendship between Japan and Sri Lanka based on trust and mutual respect by quoting the famous speech given by former President J.R. Jayawardene in 1951 at the San Francisco peace conference.

The ambassador also noted the deep connections between Japan and Sri Lanka through the Japanese Imperial family’s goodwill visit to then Ceylon in March 1921 when His Majesty the Emperor Showa, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, made a port call in Ceylon en-route to Europe.

Towards the end of the Edo period (1603 to 1868), when many Japanese visited Europe and the USA, they also visited Colombo in transit. Among the visitors were diplomatic delegations during the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate as well as several famous Japanese personalities such as Fukuzawa Yukichi, Mori Ogai, Natsume Soseki, Yosano Akiko and others.

The Ambassador also conveyed the sad news of Her Imperial Highness Princess Yuriko of Mikasa, who passed away in November at the age of 101. She visited Colombo in 1956 with her husband His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa, and they were gifted with an elephant by the Ceylon Government.

This elephant named “Anura,” gifted to the people of Japan from the people of Sri Lanka 68 years ago, is still alive and is 71 years old now. Princess Yuriko is said to have always kept a miniature elephant close to her to remind her of “Anura” since she was very fond of this elephant.

The Ambassador said that he is glad that Japan-Sri Lanka relations are supported by robust people-to-people exchanges and that the Lanka-Japan Friendship Society is in the forefront of it, expressing his appreciation for LJFS’s contributions towards enhancing the bilateral relations.

MD (Tony) Saldin who was re-elected President said that the mission of the LJFS remains clear; to continue building meaningful relationships and creating opportunities for collaboration between Sri Lanka and Japan, whether it is through cultural programs, youth exchanges, or community development projects.

The following were elected to the Executive Committee of the Society: Patron : His Excellency Akio ISOMATA, Ambassador for Japan, Vice patrons: Merrick Gooneratne/Immediate Past Presidet, Sumana Liyanage, Deepal Gunaratne, Mikinaga Hotta/JSA, President: M.D. (Tony) Saldin

Vice Presidents: A. Anandagoda, Jayaraja Chandrasekara, Prof. Gaminda Haegoda, Neomal Perera, Sunitha Wijepala, General Secretary: Samadara Mampitiye, Asst. Gen. Secretary: Lt. Col. Dr. Asanka Pallewatte, General Treasurer: M. Thiyagaraja, Asst. Gen. Treasurer: D.A.R.M. Nishanthi Galhena

Executive Committee: Nemantha Abeysinghe, Dr. Vijaya Corea, Dr. P.H.P. de Silva, Mahendra de Vaz, Dushy Goonetilleke, Janneth Ismail, Dr. Upali Jayawardena, , R. Kadirgamarajah, Chanaka Kariyapperuma, Druki Martenstyn, Fred Vijayakumar Marian, Capt. Ganesh Mendis, Inam Muhammed, Sarojini Nagendran, Diloshini Nesakumar, Dr. Rohan Pallewatte, Suren Raghavan, Shelly Thenuwara, Manoranjan Wijebahu and Himani Wijemanne.The meeting concluded with fellowship, entertainment and a gala dinner.