JAPANESE MISSION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22194, 22 August 1935, Page 13

JAPANESE MISSION

WELCOME IN AUCKLAND GOODWILL TO DOMINION CIVIC RECEPTION ACCORDED TRIBUTE AT THE CENOTAPH Bearing a message of friendship from the Emperor, Government and people of Japan, the goodwill mission headed by Mr. Katsuji Debuchi, Ambassador Extraordinary and plenipotentiary, arrived in Auckland from Wellington yesterday, accompanied by Sir Alexander Young, Minister of Internal Affairs, representing the Government. The mission was welcomed at the railway station by the Mayor, Mr. Ernest Davis. Less than an hour after their arrival, the ambassador and his suito drove from the Grand Hotel to the War Memorial Museum, where they were welcomed by Major-General Sir George Richardson, the president of the Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association, Mr, J. W. Kendall, and some members of the association's executive. Mr. Debuchi laid a wreath of poppies and laurel at the foot of the Cenotaph. Sir George Richardson briefly thanked the ambassador for the tribute. After the little ceremony the visitors were taken to the Hall of Memories, where they were much impressed by the SOOO names of the dead inscribed upon the walls. Compliment to the Dominion There was a largo gathering in the City Council chamber at noon for the civic reception. "The flag of Nippon is becoming an increasingly familiar sight in these waters," said the Mayor, in a speech of welcome. "We are always pleased to see it. Recently we had the privilege of offering the hospitality of Auckland to your countryman, Admiral Xakamura, and the officers and men of His Imperial Majesty's Naval Training Squadron. To-day we tender our felicitations and proffer the hand of good fellowship to representatives of another section of Japanese national life, headed by Your Excellency, who is known to most New Zealanders as one of its most distinguished ambassadors. "We appreciate the compliment His imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan has paid us in sending an ambassador. The occasion is, 1 believe, the first on which Auckland has been honoured by the visit of a plenipotentiary. We greet you as an emissary of goodwill, and we trust that, although your sojourn in the Dominion is brief, the full purpose of your mission will be achieved." Goodwill Reciprocated Sir Alexander Young, speaking on behalf of the Government, said ho was glad to join with the Mayor and citizens in doing ( honour to Mr. Debuchi and his mission. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. M. J. Savage, said he was glad to have an opportunity of reciprocating the goodwill which Mr. Debuchi had expressed . The president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Gainor Jackson, speaking on behalf of the commercial community, said the Japanese Government had paid New Zealand a graceful compliment by including the Dominion in the tour of its goodwill mission to Australia.

The Ambassador's Reply "I wish to express my very sincere appreciation for the kindness and welcome you have accorded our mission," said Mr. Debuchi, in reply. "The compliment to my country in the generosity and courtesy of this reception will find a grateful response from my countrymen, and indeed I should be very happy if you would accept my visit as a "symbol of this friendliness of the people of Japan toward thG»people of New Zealand. "As science advances, so does the proximity between countries, and in proportion, it becomes more and more essential that friendly sociable feelings should pervade the international neighbourhood. We all have something usefid to contribute to each other, and it is especially from personal exchanges and contacts such as these that we gain the respect and esteem which help to strengthen the foundations of international friendship. "Your Worship, ladies and gentlemen, mav I express the deep hope that my visit to New Zealand will contribute in some way, even though in a small one, to reinforce the strong ties of friendship which have bound our countries together ever since our first days of intercourse." A Sightseeing Trip The visitors had lunch with the Mayor at the Auckland Club. In the afternoon they were shown the wharves and were taken for a motor drive which included the summits of Mount Eden and One Tree Hill. They had afternoon tea at "Longford," Kohimarama, the home of the Mayor. Last evening Mr. Debuchi and his suite were entertained at a civic At Home in the' Town Hall, at which many leading citizens and their wives were introduced to the ambassador. The party will leave this morning for Rotorua.