The Chat of Ambassador
Presenting the letter of credence to His Majesty the King Albert II (No.2)
＜The words of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to His Majesty King Albert II＞
The ceremony for the presentation of the letters of credence in Belgium is royally gorgeous. We went from the residence to the Royal Laeken Castle in a car of the Royal Palace, escorted by a motorcade. When we arrived at the main gate, around 50 cavalries in formal dress led us to the entrance of the Royal Palace. The Chief of Protocol welcomed us and guided us to the Chamber of Ceremonies. We greeted His Majesty King Albert II and I presented my letters of credence. Until that moment, the three diplomats that accompanied me and I acted in the same way, but after presenting the letters of credence, His Majesty King Albert II invited me to the next room and I talked to His Majesty in private. It was a brief talk of 15 minutes, but I was felt tense indeed, being alone with His Majesty King Albert II in the room. His Majesty spoke warm words about the close communication with Japanese imperial family. I conveyed the message from the Emperor of Japan. Also, His Majesty King Albert II said he would like to advance the economic relationship between Belgium and Japan and asked me about the current situation of reconstruction in the area struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake. I was deeply moved by profound kindness from every word. By the way, the ambassador’s dress code for the ceremony of credentials is “White tie”, which is the most formal dress. I looked a little like antique with decorations from foreign governments hanging from my neck and attached to my chest. It was the first time that I dressed up this formally, because in my former post in Vietnam it was all right to wear a dark suit when presenting the letters of credence to the President of Vietnam. The sense of relief after finishing successfully an important official event like this and the joy of finally becoming an full-fledged ambassador were beyond comparison. The profession of a diplomat might still be special. ＜Te Deum, a traditional and religious event＞The religious event called “Te Deum” (which is one of the hymns to worship God) was held on 15th November at the Cathedral Saint Michel. As the new ambassador I was very interested in this event which I attended with my wife. It was a very important ceremony presided by Archbishop Léonard and attended by the Royal family such as His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe and Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde, Prime Minister Di Rupo and many cabinet ministers. The Ambassadors representing the diplomatic corps were given a seat in the front row. The reason why 15th November is “King’s Day” is that this day is Saint-Albert Day on the catholic calendar and Saint-Leopold Day in Germany and that both names are the same as the name of successive Belgian Kings. This day was first established in 1866. When His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe and Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde entered and left the venue, the attendants gave a big applause to celebrate the Royal Family. The program was very simple. The Mass of 50 minutes consisted of readings from the Bible and hymns. I attended this event for the first time and what surprised me was the content of Archbishop Leonard’s speech. He mentioned the Belgian domestic politics, referring to the current economic depression and serious employment issues. Religious words were not almost heard. It is true that religion had a great role in both domestic politics and diplomacy in Belgium, which is a pious Catholic country. This is surprising for someone from Japan, where the separation of politics and religion is stipulated in the Constitution. The Cathedral Saint Michel, where the Mass was held, is a beautiful Gothic building. According to a travel guide, the construction started around the 13th century and the building was gradually extended until it was finished in the 17th century. At the start of the 16th century, the famous Holy Roman Emperor Charles V held his coronation ceremony here. There are a quite good number of European churches whose construction took several centuries to complete. I am impressed by such sustained religious passion. Also, there is an interesting story about this cathedral. The formal name of this building is “the Cathedral of Saint Michel and Gudule” with the name of an unfamiliar saint “Gudule” has been added. The legend says that in the 7th century, there was a small place of worship here and a girl called Gudule continued to pray every night in spite of the nasty devil blowing out her candles. When the construction of the church started, local people insisted that the name of the girl needed to be added and this came true after much trouble. I may not be the only person to feel a sense of Belgium in the fact that a very local episode is linked to such a famous building as “the Saint Michel Cathedral”. ＜The ambassador’s prize of the Japanese speech contest＞The Japanese speech contest for foreigners was held at the Japanese School of Brussels on 17th November, which I attended as one of the judges. This contest has become a tradition and was already organized for the 22nd time by the Nihonjinkai. There were 7 finalists for the beginner class and 11 finalists for the advanced class. Each winner at both classes was awarded a prize. Many Japanese companies operating in Belgium offered prizes as sponsors and in this deluxe edition, the winner in the advanced class got a round trip ticket to Japan. I was surprised at the high standard of the participants, but also the fact that the nationalities of the participants were so diverse. In particular, in the advanced class, non-Belgian people got the first prize to 6th prize (Korea, China, Spain, Canada, Italia, England). Most of them had stayed in Japan to study or by JET program (The Japan Exchange and Teaching program with which the Japanese government and municipalities invite young foreign teachers and coordinators for international relations). They spoke Japanese fluently including the question- and- answer session. The first prize winner was a Korean high school student who had lived for three years in Japan for her father’s work and who has a lot of Japanese friends in the International School of Brussels. She gave a speech of about five minutes entitled “The culture of the change purse”. It was a good speech, mixed with jokes, saying that, in comparison to the culture and thought of the West, Japan and Korea are very similar and are both located in the same East Asia cultural area and that she would like to deepen mutual friendship between the two countries. A majority of Belgian participants were university students who studied Japanese and talked about their interest in Japanese Anime and Manga. I hope that they will do their best even more next year. Incidentally, it was the first time to award “The Ambassador’s prize” this year. This is a prize to encourage the study of Japanese, not related to the prize winners’ ranking. I allowed myself to choose a winner at my own discretion. I chose a Belgian boy in the beginner class who gave a three-minute speech titled “I love animals”. He is a 13-year old junior high school student and participated in the contest for three years in a row. Though he studies Japanese with a private teacher, I hope that he will continue to study, win the first prize in the advanced class and realize the long-awaited Japanese trip (and see there a Japanese rhinoceros beetle for the first time). |
