Message from Akio ISOMATA, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Japan’s National Foundation Commemoration Day

Sri Lankan participants for Spogomi World Cup 2025New Habarana Grid Substation funded by Japanese ODA 

• This special day marks the legendary foundation of Japan and the enthronement of its first Emperor, Jimmu, in 660 BC. This is also a day for Japan to reflect upon the rich history and enduring spirit of our nation, cherishing the values and traditions that have shaped us over the centuries.

What is Japan’s National Foundation Commemoration Day?

On the auspicious occasion of Japan’s National Foundation Commemoration Day, I extend my warmest greetings and sincerest wishes to the people of Sri Lanka. Japan celebrates its National Foundation Commemoration Day, known as “Kenkoku-Kinen-no-Hi,” on 11th February each year. This special day marks the legendary foundation of Japan and the enthronement of its first Emperor, Jimmu, in 660 BC.

This is also a day for Japan to reflect upon the rich history and enduring spirit of our nation, cherishing the values and traditions that have shaped us over the centuries. As we celebrate this momentous occasion, we hope it also serves as an opportunity to strengthen the longstanding friendship that exists between our two nations.

The Bilateral Relationship: 

Now and Then

H.E. the President, Anura Kumar Dissanayake, paid an official visit to Japan last September, received in Osaka first as one of the chief guests for the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai and then in Tokyo. This visit was truly instrumental to elevate the bilateral relations to a higher ground. During this visit, the two leaders issued a joint statement for the first time in eight years, and a signing ceremony was held for the provision of a project to the Sri Lankan navy under the new scheme of Official Security Assistance (OSA) —the first of its kind to Sri Lanka. Additionally, a concrete plan was proposed to establish an export-oriented industrial corridor to integrate Sri Lanka deeply in the regional supply chain for its sustainable growth.

Signing ceremony during President Dissanayake’s Japan Visit

Looking back upon our history of friendship, I would recall, with profound appreciation, the courageous speech made by H. E. J.R. Jayawardene, the then Finance Minister of the Government of Ceylon, during the San Francisco Peace Conference in 1951. At this historic meeting, the late President Jayewardene’s reference to a passage from Dhammapada, “hatred ceases not by hatred, but by love...” and a strong message to support Japan—advocating the inclusion of Japan in the post-war international community as a free and independent nation—left a deep impression on not only Japan but also on many other countries present at the meeting.

I must hasten to add that, by the will of H.E. J.R. Jayawardene, the cornea of his left was donated to a Japanese person. This generous act sparked the expansion of cornea donations from Sri Lanka to Japan, with the total number of donations reaching more than 8,300 to date.

Assistance in Sri Lanka’s Socio-Economic Development and Maritime Cooperation

Japan and Sri Lanka have supported each other as friends, overcoming various crises together. Whenever Sri Lanka faced difficulties, Japan has always extended its helping hands to the people of Sri Lanka, as it also happened in the wake of recent Cyclone Ditwah. Japan responded to the unprecedented cyclone disaster by sending emergency relief goods, dispatching Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Medical Team as well as providing emergency grant through the UN organizations- IOM, UNICEF and WFP.

Dr. Jayatissa, Minister of Health’s visits JDR Medical Team’s operation site in Chilaw

Historically, Japan provided its first grant assistance to Sri Lanka in 1961, while its first yen loan assistance was extended in 1978. Colombo Port, Manampitiya Bridge and Ramboda Tunnel are among those projects from early days of Japan’s assistance, to name but a few. These projects are depicted in the current Sri Lankan Rupee notes (LKR.20, LKR.50 and LKR.1000 respectively).

Japan also assisted Sri Lanka in the economic crisis in 2022. Japan led the negotiations of the debt restructuring of Sri Lanka as a co-chair of the Official Creditors Committee, and after the initial agreement was reached, resumed the disbursement of yen loans for all the suspended projects.

Human resource development formed a solid foundation of Japan’s postwar rapid economic growth. Likewise, Japan’s support to Sri Lanka also focuses on human resource development. Under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) program which started in 1981, approximately 1,200 volunteers have been sent to Sri Lanka so far to work at a grassroots level in such fields as education, health, rural development and youth development.

Sri Lanka occupies a strategically important position along the Indian Ocean sea-lanes. The country also plays an indispensable role in regional stability and prosperity. We believe that Japan and Sri Lanka, as being both maritime nations, can further strengthen its cooperation in maritime affairs under the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) that Japan promotes globally, in a variety of areas including maritime security and safety, maritime domain awareness, development of port and other infrastructure, marine environmental protection and the blue economy.

Multifaceted Charm and Depth of Japan

Positioned as one of the elective foreign languages in the secondary education, Japanese is widely taught in Sri Lanka, with over 34,000 students currently learning it – a figure that is particularly outstanding among South Asian countries. Furthermore, coupled with expanding employment opportunities in Japan, the number of Sri Lankans residing in Japan, including university students, has reached approximately 73,000, doubling over the past five years. This clearly reflects the heightened interest in Japan by Sri Lankan people in recent years.

Japanese learners in O/L seminar

For a long time, there has been strong interest in traditional Japanese culture such as Ikebana, Bonsai, Origami, and Martial Arts in Sri Lanka. However, there are also a wide variety of cultural and artistic expressions that Japan boasts to the world, such as Anime & Manga- “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Princess Mononoke”, “Case Closed”, “Poke-mon”, “Demon Slayer” ; deeply emotional films- “Okuribito”, “Hana-bi”, “The Great Passage” ; J-pop ; Japanese food- “Ramen”, “Macha”, “Tako-yaki”, “Katsu-don”, to name a few here. There are a lot of things which you have not yet explored!! We hope that many more Sri Lankans will come to know and experience these multifaceted charm and depth of Japan.

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Ramen: a must-try food item