Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely thank the mayor for his contribution and welcome him to Ireland. I also thank the embassy team, led by our good friend Ambassador Norio. The team has been doing extraordinary work building the strong friendship between Ireland and Japan. That can be measured in many ways. Japan is now Ireland’s fifth largest trading partner. We do €23 billion in trade every year. However, it is more than just about the money. It is about the personal friendships, the exchanges, the JET exchange programme and, as the mayor mentioned, the many young people who are inspired by aspects of Japanese culture.

My home town is Gorey. The mayor will be meeting with representatives from Gorey Community School later. It has the largest number of students studying Japanese of any school in Ireland, and a number of them will travel to Japan. It is critical, as the mayor said, that we involve young people in the quest for peace at all times.

We know that today Hiroshima is a vibrant city that is rich in culture. It celebrates the best of what is Japanese but also world culture. We cannot change our history, but we can learn from it. Hiroshima is a city that can inspire the world to do better.

The mayor is correct to state that we need to engage in further dialogue. We need to place our faith in multilateral institutions, such as Mayors for Peace, for us in the European Union and, in spite of all of its flaws, the United Nations. With regard to Ireland’s role and work in combating nuclear weapons, I think of the work of our late foreign affairs Minister, Frank Aiken, but also that of our peacekeeping troops. Ireland is rightly proud of being the only country that has taken part in every UN peacekeeping mission. Today, we think of Irish and other troops who are serving on the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

The mayor is correct that we need to strive for a world free of nuclear weapons. It is dangerous that nuclear weapons are still in existence around the world. Such weapons pose even more of a threat in this era of artificial intelligence. It is critical democracies, but indeed all countries, co-operate and set out the ground rules by which new technologies can operate, ensuring they operate in the best interests of humanity.

The mayor is right that we live in a world of deep conflict. We have not learned from the past. We are now approaching 1,000 days of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the horrors that has resulted. There are several conflicts in the Middle East, most notably the horrors we are seeing now in Gaza and Lebanon. We see what is happening in Sudan and many parts of Africa. We see, as the mayor referred to, tensions in the Pacific. More than ever, it is critically important that all of us – politicians, the media, civic society, young people and everyone in society – plays our role in supporting those institutions in their quest for peace. I refer to this island’s own peace process. It is that - a process – as there is still much work to be done. If we learn anything from that, it is the importance of continually engaging in dialogue, being involved, listening to the other side, trying to understand other views, not always agreeing, but understanding and engaging.

We are very privileged that the mayor and the people of Hiroshima have been willing to share their stories with us and in the quest for peace. I wish the mayor and his party an enjoyable time in Ireland. I know this is his first visit here. In spreading his message, I hope it goes out loud and wide. I also hope he gets to enjoy Irish hospitality. We look forward to continuing to build those very important friendships between Ireland and Japan and working together toward world peace.