Toespraak Balkenende in Japan

War victims' commemorative ceremony at the British Commonwealth War Cemetery

De toespraak is in het Engels gehouden.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This year we commemorate the 400th anniversary of formal trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands. Ever since then our shared history has been characterised by friendship, trade and the exchange of cultural experience and scientific knowledge. The Second World War is a notable and sad exception to this rewarding relationship. We are gathered here today because in 2009 we commemorate our common history in its entirety, including the suffering of the dark years of war.

Here, in the peace and serenity of the British Commonwealth War Cemetery, the remains of 21 Dutch prisoners of war are interred. Their bodies were washed ashore after the ship transporting them to Japan was torpedoed.

All in all, some 870 Dutchmen died in Japan during the war years, 71 of them as a consequence of forced labour in the coal mines of Mizumaki on Kyushu. Around 20,000 Dutch military were taken as prisoners of war and detained throughout Asia. And many, many more - men, women and children - were held in civilian internment camps after the Japanese armed forces overran the then Dutch East Indies in 1942. The hunger, disease, violence, forced prostitution, forced labour and brutal treatment they suffered, fill all who learn about these atrocities with horror and pain. Today I ask you to join me in honouring their memories and the memories of all those who suffered in Asia during those terrible years.

Sixty-four years have passed since the end of the Second World War. Japan and the Netherlands have long since been reconciled and we have rebuilt our longstanding friendship. But reconciliation has not always been easy, also due to differences in interpretation of what happened and why.

The importance of memorial services such as today's has not diminished in any way. Held in hallowed places, these gatherings enable nations as well as individuals to squarely face the past and honour their victims. They focus our minds on the suffering caused by war and aggression in past en present. And they serve as a platform to involve the young and keep history alive. It is a genuine pleasure to see so many young faces from Setogaya Elementary School. Welcome to you all.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Since 1945 both Japan and the Netherlands have been spared the suffering of large-scale war. Our governments are committed to peacefully resolving international security issues on the international agenda. So today's service not only commemorates the war dead of our grandparents' and parents' generation. It also reminds us of the crucial importance of peace and respect for human dignity in our own time.

Today we honour those who perished more than sixty years ago. In doing so, we are also voicing our dedication and gratitude to the men and women who have risked their lives since then to promote peace and security all over the world. These soldiers, including Dutch and Japanese, do not fight to seize territory or other spoils of war. They fight to protect those who need our protection, to help those who need our help and to bring peace where there is conflict.

I would like to thank those who made this remembrance ceremony possible. Thank you for offering us this peaceful location to remember our war victims and to reflect upon the suffering caused by armed conflicts that are ongoing in other parts of the world.

May I ask you to join me in one minute's silence to honour the memory of all the men, women and children who lost their lives and who suffered in Asia during the Second World War. Thank you.