​(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson) 

President Reuven Rivlin yesterday evening (Tuesday, 13 June 2017) addressed a reception hosted at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, by the Ambassador of Japan to Israel, H.E. Koji Tomita. The event celebrated 65 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

President Rivlin began by noting, “Tonight we celebrate, here in Jerusalem, 65 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Japan,” and added, “Both our peoples have ancient souls. We were created thousands of years ago, we preserve and respect our traditions, our past. We also share a strong belief in our future but we don't take it for granted. That is why we invest so much in education. We know that a nation is only as good as its education.”

The President explained, “I heard there is a Japanese art rooted in the fifteen century called Kintsugi, where you repair broken pottery with gloss mixed with gold. This art comes from the philosophy that looks at breakages as what makes the object even more beautiful and unique.” He noted, “Both our nations have been horribly broken, more than once. We both built ourselves back, with brushes and gold, we carry our breakages with pride, they made us stronger, smarter, they made us beautiful.”

The President added, “For 65 years, Japan and Israel have cooperated in trade and science, culture and technology, education and aviation. We hold dear this cooperation, and we look forward to making it grow even stronger,” and concluded, “I send my sincerest and respectful greetings to Emperor Akihito, and to Prime Minister Abe.”

Ambassador Tomita thanked the President for attending and addressing the celebration and said, “At this historic juncture of the 65th year of diplomatic relations, I am supremely confident about our future because I know our relations are built on a strong bond between peoples, supported by much respect, affection and trust. I am looking forward to working with all of you to make this bond even stronger in the decades to come”.