THE MAIKATO TIMES FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1935. JAPANESE GOODWILL MISSION

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19662, 23 August 1935, Page 6

THE MAIKATO TIMES FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1935. JAPANESE GOODWILL MISSION

The members of the Japanese Mission of Goodwill which passed through Hamilton yesterday on a fleeting visit to Rotorua, has been accorded a warm welcome at all places hitherto visited, and can be assured of a similar reception wherever they go in the Dominion. The visit of the famous Dr. Ivagawa did much to dispel any prejudice that may exist against Japan, and the Goodwill Mission will assist still further in that direction. Contact between peoples tends to dispel suspicion by promoting a better understanding. In these days of rapid transit the international spirit has been greatly quickened. The world has been brought to a realisation that all nations are neighbours, not strangers, and it is not too much to assert that the "middle wall of partition” is being gradually razed. There is really less feeling now between races than there was between villages a few decades ago, when every stranger was looked upon with suspicion and a suitable target for " ’arf a brick. It is becoming more and more realised that the future of the world lies in international co-operation, and not in national antagonisms. Nations in these modem days can no more live unto themselves than can individuals, and whilst it is freely and fiankly admitted that the difficulties and obstacles to unrestricted intercourse are numerous, bulky, and various, the world as a whole is slowly moving towards that goal, and the hope is that in the not-distant future progress will b$ more rapid. It is a hopeful sign that men recognised as in the first rank of the intelligentsia in all countries are thinking and writing . along these lines. They realise that nationalism will never usher in the Millenium, for which all peoples sigh. The Japanese Mission of Goodwill is an indication of the growth of this spirit. Speaking at the civic reception in Wellington the leader of the party, His Excellency Mr Katsuji Debuchi, admirably expressed tho sentiment thus: " Science has accelerated the methods of communication to such a degree that we must now consider ourselves, so to speak, as paying a neighbourly call of friendship on behalf of the people of Japan. Of course we hear more of economic and trade relations between countries, hut, important as are these relations, they ought not to be tlie sole basis of exchange. The pecessary foundations of confidence and friendship are first to be laid, and these can be secured only by an intimate co-operation founded in close cultural and social, as well as commercial, contacts.” That put the matter in a nutshell. The first essentials to satisfactory relationships are friendship, confidence, and mutual understanding. These established, they constitute a threefold cord which will stand any strain. The Japanese Mission of GoodwilHs an excellent thing. It will be all to the good if we are privileged to receive similar envoys from other countries and also despatch them abroad. Each nation has its own problems, and mutual understanding is desirable above all things. This can be best attained by personal contact such as is being established by Mr Debuchi and his colleagues.