I’d like to follow Prof. Cannadine’s opening speech with a few, brief remarks to express my appreciation for his efforts during the past year to bring the 3rd Anglo-Japanese Conference of Historians into reality.
I’m delighted to state that all of us here participate in and extend the period of academic cooperation and friendship represented in this Anglo-Japanese Conference, now becoming a tradition.
The Conference was inaugurated in 1994 in this very room, after considerable preparations by both Patrick O'Brien and Kaoru Ugawa. The second conference was held with immense enthusiasm in Tokyo in 1997, hence making the AJC a firmly based triennial institution productive and inspiring between the historians on both sides of the Eurasian Continent.
May I draw your attention to the fact that since the first AJC the number of Japanese scholars and postgraduates staying in UK and making use of IHR library and seminars, have been steadily increasing, and esp. the number of those students who win their doctorates here? The Japanese delegation of 12 speakers come from a big cohort of more than 200 university teachers of British history in Japan.
Of course there were some difficulties: geographical distance, finance, language, and perhaps culture.
Language and cultural differences may have hindered quick and needed response from our side. However, David Cannadine's untiring efforts alleviated the financial burden, and have secured a number of distinguished British historians to take part in the Conference; and in addition, internet, one of the latest facilities of civilization, helped resolve barriers of distance and time-lag.
In Japanese we say, ‘It is only after rain that the ground is firm and settled’.
I’m confident that the conference we are starting today should be another success, and well worth the efforts we have been making.
Last but not least: I do not forget the encouragement and reassurances given to us by several good friends, and wish also to acknowledge the valuable contribution of Debra Birch.
Thank you.