By Barnabas Orere

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, May 28, 2009) – The Government and the people of Papua New Guinea decided in 1975, the year we declared nationhood, to forge diplomatic and trade ties with Japan.

Thirty-four years later, the relationship is maturing with the decision by PNG to build its own chancery building in Tokyo, Japan’s capital and the capital of world’s third largest economy; History, in almost every facet of human endeavour shows that any advancement is inevitably preceded by disaster or a setback. The special relations between PNG and Japan emerged from the Second World War in which PNG was unwittingly drawn. From that bitter experience, Japan plunged into a resolution of positive will for sophistication that would change history and to declare gratitude to its own people that would become the driving force to face the future world.

When the first government of Michael Somare at Independence agreed to put pen on paper to seal the relationship with Japan, little did our political masters know that Japan would in a few short years to come, become the third strongest economy of the world. What were our leaders thinking at the time?

Over three decades later, their wisdom is taking perspective and as a nation Papua New Guineans can stand proud by declaring our own resolution and gratitude; we have come a long way since 1942. With the decision to make our relations with Japan solid by building our own house on Japanese soil, PNG is taking the lead in declaring its readiness to take the relationship to the next level; of the next 34 years. The building of the PNG chancery in Tokyo is a symbol that PNG Government and the people of PNG are making an investment in Japan. In real estate terms, this is the surface image but more deeper is the "building of our home in Japan". As the PNG Ambassador to Tokyo, Michael Maue, put it; "it will be a home away from home." When Japan responds, the stage will be set for the wider picture. The novelty in what is unfolding is the time span the two countries have endured to cement the path from which greatness will reach the people of PNG and sustained for generations to come. 2009, it seems, is the year for resolution and gratitude.

At the epicenter of PNG’s maturing relations with Japan is a man Japanese people know as Michael Somare, Prime Minister Michael Somare. Among the older Japanese, Somare enjoys growing popularity. As the first prime minister of PNG, he gave the Japanese people what they wanted; their passionate desire to keep the link with the land where many Japanese sons perished in war. This desire of the Japanese people is not only trauma-related; the Japanese people’s method of turning to history to understand the future is using the spiritual world as part of the resolution of moving forward. This link with the spirit world drives the Japanese culture; they have so much respect for the dead and the living have deep respect for each other. Through this they mould the spirit of resolution and gratitude.

Therefore the Japanese see Michael Somare as the man who allowed them to retrieve the remains of Japanese soldiers. Somare on his part has visited Japan 10 times which tells the Japanese people something of his respect for the Japanese culture. The man has earned his respect by being prime minister four times; he is celebrating 40 years in politics and in the time he has been prime minister of his country, Japan has had 20 different prime ministers. Somare has forged an impression that PNG is a stable country, one that can be trusted, which in turn gives a sense of assurance that the Japanese people’s link with their dead is safe.

If Japan is modernised today because the nation rose from the grave, read the last line in that perspective and understand the angle of this article. Taking these cultural considerations and putting them into perspective is important because, to conduct business and trade, one needs to understand the culture of the people being targeted.

Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare chose his 40th year of politics to visit Japan and during his reign as prime minister, the PNG chancery building is going up. At the banquet for the ground breaking, Sir Michael celebrated his long uninterrupted political career and was hailed by the hundreds of invited guests who filled the grand banquet hall, as a cultural hero and a man of extraordinary political clout.

The unspoken word gracing the atmosphere was for the Japanese leadership to see the man and give his country what is deserved.

Michael Somare was a boy in Rabaul with his policeman-father when the Second World War broke out. His father took young Michael to the safety of his uncles at Karau village, East Sepik.

In his account of the war, held in the Michael Somare Library at the University of Papua New Guinea, the Prime Minister describes that the Japanese soldiers who crossed his path were kindly and that when the war ended, Somare’s uncles and other villagers bid the departing Japanese soldiers with much tear-shedding and lots of dried fish which they had specially prepared to be eaten along the way.

For a young boy who formed an impression and hung on to his beliefs deserves our respect because it is possible the Japanese are aware of this also and deeply respect the man for it. It can only brighten prospects for PNG and for that what has been started must be savoured because it is born of culture.

During the visit just concluded, Sir Michael has secured with his Japanese counterpart, three billion yen for the construction of trunk roads on Bougainville to support social infrastructure. The Japanese government will also give a loan of 8.3 billion yen [US$87.2 million] for a proper sewerage system for Port Moresby which was built for 300,000 people and is facing enormous strain.

The ground-breaking ceremony coincided with the timing for the PALM summit and two investment seminars organised by PNG which Sir Michael opened. There was the Pacific Islands exhibitions and a cultural dancing group with a press contingent from PNG visited several venues while the PM had a private audience with the Emperor of Japan and had a game of golf. One of the important discussions held which is key to business and investment is the introduction of a second flight between Port Moresby and Narita.

Japanese companies will be involved in the LNG project which has a long life.

Our own big boys made impressive presentations at the seminar which was led by Commerce and Trade Minister Gabriel Kapris. The two-day seminar co-ordinated through the Japan External Trade Research Organisation (JETRO) was attended by all nationalities but dominated by Japanese business elites and the hard work put in by Ambassador Maue and his staff clearly showed that PNG had achieved a degree of impact on its mission.

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