90.06./23
19:34
BRITISH EMBASSY TOKYO
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CC. I for the Sof S. Any
commento plesse
"Not only are ripples and swells ruffling the surface of men's
minds, but a massive upheaval is being stirred up at the very
depths of their souls."
Gfy
Those are not my words. They are the words of the great Japanese
pioneer of Westernisation, Fukuzawa Yukichi, and they were
written in 1875. He was describing the impact of Western
cultures on Japan after the Meiji Restoration. But allowing for
hyperbole (and perhaps not allowing that much) they apply as
accurately to the dramatic changes we have seen throughout the
world in recent months.
The first and most important is of course, the dramatic reduction
in East/West tension. We have seen new Governments emerge
throughout Eastern Europe. The Communist structures imposed by
Stalin at the end of the Second World War are being swept away.
Everyone now understands their failure to meet either the
political or economic aspirations of their people.
We are now
in the process of creating
creating new structures to assure Europe's
security and prosperity. This is a complex and difficult task
but also one which is tremendously rewarding.
These changes and particularly the new atmosphere between
United States and the Soviet Union have global implications and
today speaking in Japan, I want to focus on the implications of
these changes for the industrialised democratic countries.
The first point is, without complacency, to recognise our own
There has been much talk in recent years of a decline
success,
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