ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER PAUL VI
TO THE AMBASSADOR OF JAPAN
TO THE HOLY SEE*

Thursday, 26 February 1970

Mister Ambassador,

We accept with sincere pleasure the Letters of Credence which you present to Us on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, and We bid you a heartfelt welcome as your country’s Ambassador to the Holy See.

Your Excellency will represent a people whose energy and self-sacrifice have enabled them to make a wonderful recovery from the effects of war, and who, as you have reported, are inspired by the profound desire to contribute to harmony among nations by encouraging friendly cooperation and by promoting that development and prosperity without which there can be no secure peace.
The great World Exposition to be held this year in Osaka will provide a brilliant reflection both of the advance in your country’s economy and of its wish to join with others in furthering the welfare of all.

Your words, Mister Ambassador, show forth your deep appreciation of the capital importance of working for peace, in view of the destructive forces which man has learned to unleash, to the extent that modern war threatens the very survival of mankind, and in view of the immense blessings that peace can produce.

In accordance with the obligation laid on Us by Him who gave men the commandment to love one another, We have made it one of the main aims of Our Pontificate to labour in that worthy cause. In that work We count especially on the collaboration of dedicated persons such as Your Excellency, who, because of their calling as diplomats, have the special concern to create human and rational relations among nations.

Your Excellency will find Us ready at all times to assist you in the performance of your duties, in all that can promote the spiritual and moral values of your country, and in furthering mutual understanding and assistance between peoples.

It is therefore with a full heart that We invoke upon Your Excellency and upon your activity the richest blessings of heaven.

*AAS 62 (1970), p.174.

Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, vol. VIII, p.154-155.

L’Attività della Santa Sede 1970, p. 85-86.

L'Osservatore Romano, 27.2.1970, p.2.

ORa n.11 p.2.