Remarks by Ambassador Makoto Yamanaka At his farewell reception at his official residence (7 September, 2010)

  
  Your Excellency Lim Boon Heng, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, and Mrs. Lim,

Your Excellency Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education,

Excellencies, Colleagues, and Friends,

Very good evening to you all,

Thank you very much for being with us at our farewell reception. My wife and I are so happy to see you this evening to say SAYONARA at the end of our journey in Singapore. It is certainly a sad moment to leave Singapore, but that is part and parcel of being a diplomat.

Three years of my tenure have passed so fast, perhaps too fast. It is like a beautiful and short-lived dream. But I can tell you that my life in Singapore, both professional and private, was very enjoyable and rewarding.

I have found many favorites while staying in Singapore. Let me share with you some of them. It may sound like a famous old song by Julie Andrews.

Early morning walk in the Botanic Gardens
Sunshine sparkled right after passing showers
Marina Bay skyline at night
Young local volunteers working at various public events
Bak Kut Teh at Vivo City hawker centre
Channel News Asia’s popular programme, “Japan Hour”

So, “these are a few of my favorite things” in Singapore.

Now let us briefly turn to my professional life. During my three-year tenure, I have witnessed the severe downturn of Singapore economy followed by a strong V-shaped recovery. During this period, I have always been impressed by Singapore’s enterprising sprit demonstrated through such inaugurations as the Singapore Flyer, the F1 Night Race, the Integrated Resorts, and the YOG. I was also fortunate enough to witness Singapore’s skillful chairmanship of international conferences including the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Singapore International Water Week, and the APEC Leaders Meeting.

On our bilateral front, I received two Japanese Prime Ministers to Singapore in 2007 and 2009. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also visited Tokyo in 2009. For the first time in our bilateral history, President S R Nathan paid a State Visit to Japan in May 2009. The Japan Creative Centre was launched in Singapore last November; this Centre, a symbol of our bilateral collaboration, has started successfully to showcase Japan’s “innovation and tradition”, particularly its cutting-edge technologies, arts and pop-culture. I am very proud of these positive developments achieved between our two countries. And I am very grateful to you all for your kind understanding and cooperation.

I will be leaving Singapore for Tokyo next week. In Tokyo, I will get a new assignment and stay there for at least one year before being posted overseas again.

Excellencies, Colleagues and Friends,

Yuriko and I will miss you all. We hope to see you again either in Japan, Singapore or elsewhere. As I leave here, I will definitely cherish the memories of my life, my good friends and my favorite things in Singapore.

Thank you very much.