4 THE JAPAN TIMES SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010 (3) national day

Strong fundamentals spur growth A look at the life of His Majesty King Virasakdi Futrakul to update the Japanese peo- visited Thailand, with about omy is poised to achieve an- AMBASSADOR OF THAILAND TO JAPAN ple about the state of rela- 46,000 Japanese now working nual economic growth in 2010 King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty, ------tions between the Kingdom of in Thailand, the second-larg- of 7.9 percent, making Thai- which was founded in 1782 by King Rama I. Dec. 5 is a very auspicious oc- Thailand and Japan. est Japanese community in land the third-fastest grow- Born on Dec. 5, 1927, King Bhumibol, known as Rama IX, casion for Thai people as it is Thailand is one of Japan’s Asia after that in Shanghai. ing economy in Asia, after started his reign in 1946 and is currently the world’s the birthday of His Majesty oldest friends since the estab- Over 7,000 Japanese compa- Singapore and China. Such longest-serving head of state and longest-reigning in Thai history. King Bhumibol lishment of our diplomatic nies are operating in Thai- impressive performance was Though Thailand’s political system is officially classified as a Adulyadej, the relations 123 years ago. Ja- land, sending ¥330 billion of due to the contribution of all constitutional monarchy, the constitution states that the king be beloved father pan and Thailand were also profits back to Japan in 2009, economic sectors, especially enthroned in a position of revered worship. Thai citizens hold of the Thai peo- the first Asian countries to the second-largest profit re- exports, which grew 43 per- their king in the highest regard for his dedication to his people ple, as well as exchange ambassadors with mittances from Japanese cent in June, setting a record, through his humanitarian activities of good will and an impressive Thailand’s Na- each other. The foundation of companies in Asia, after thanks to the early recovery list of Royal projects. Examples among the projects are the tional Day. these long and friendly rela- those from China. of Asian economies, particu- Rama VIII Bridge, suggested by the king and funded by the This year, on tions has been the close and Looking to the future, giv- larly China. Thailand also en- government, and the Royal Medical Team, the king’s private the occasion of cordial friendship between en the Japanese govern- joys sound macroeconomic physicians who accompany him on village tours to provide His Majesty’s 83rd birthday, the Imperial Family and the ment’s New Growth Strate- fundamentals, with its for- medical care for local residents. In addition, the king sponsors I am honored to convey, on Royal Family of Thailand gy, which aims at ‘‘growing eign exchange reserves at physicians who volunteer to serve in hospitals in provinces behalf of the government and since the era of the Meiji em- with Asia,’’ the Thai and Jap- $169.4 billion plus a $13.2 bil- where royal palaces are situated. people of the Kingdom of peror. Although the diplo- anese economies are natural- lion net forward position, or Throughout the long history of Japan-Thailand bilateral Thailand, our deepest re- matic relations were estab- ly complementary. During about 11 months of imports, relations, the Royal Family of Thailand and the Imperial Family of spect to Their Imperial Maj- lished 123 years ago in 1887, the next three years, Thai- and a 0.9 percent unemploy- Japan have kept a close and cordial friendship. King Bhumibol’s esties the Emperor Akihito our trade began as early as land will invest about ¥4.3 ment rate. These promising first visit to Japan was in 1963, when he met the late Emperor and the Empress Michiko six centuries ago. At present, trillion for infrastructure economic figures should well Hirohito, who is posthumously called Emperor Showa, and ever and the members of the Im- Thailand and Japan trade projects — roads, rails, wa- assure the Japanese business since he has conducted several meetings with Emperor Akihito perial Family, as well as our last year was about $40 billion ter, IT, environment and al- sector of Thailand’s promis- and Empress Michiko. earnest best wishes for the (¥3.4 trillion). Japan is also ternative energy. These pro- ing future. His Majesty King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej happiness and the success of Thailand’s largest investor jects can benefit from Ja- Following the opening of the government and the peo- with a cumulative invest- pan’s technology, which has a the new International Pas- carrier’s total flights be- ties at the people-to-people loans. In recent years, with its situated at the heart of the ple of Japan. ment of more than ¥5 trillion leading edge in these fields. senger Terminal at Tokyo In- tween Thailand and Japan level. rapid economic development, North-South Corridor, linking On this auspicious occa- since the 1970s. Last year, With its strong economic ternational Airport (Hane- now stands at 59 per week. At Apart from the close bilat- Thailand has positioned itself southern China to Singapore, sion, it is an opportune time 1,004,000 Japanese tourists fundamentals, the Thai econ- da), Thai Airways Interna- the same time, major Japa- eral business partnership, Ja- as an emerging donor, and has and the East-West Corridor, tional has also opened a new nese carriers such as Japan pan has also been playing an been working as co-donor with linking the Pacific and Indian route connecting Haneda to Airlines and All Nippon Air- important role in the develop- Japan for development in oceans, in the ASEAN Connec- Suvarnabhumi Airport with ways also started daily ment process of Thailand, par- third countries, particularly tivity Master Plan to connect seven flights a week, raising flights on the same route, in- ticularly through the Japan in the Mekong subregion, in Southeast Asia together with a the carrier’s number of week- dicating increasing demands International Cooperation which Thailand has already projected investment of ¥55 ly flights between Tokyo and for travel between the two Agency’s grant aids and Offi- invested $326 million. trillion as estimated by the from 21 to 28. The countries and thus also closer cial Development Assistance Geographically, Thailand is CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Mutual trust allows long-standing relationship to flourish

Ken-ichi Suematsu Amid the seemingly end- is leading to a peaceful settle- Among other ASEAN na- largest foreign investor, but PRESIDENT, THE JAPAN-THAILAND less economic stagnation be- ment of the situation. I am tions, Thailand, one of the the relationship between the ASSOCIATION setting the world, this year convinced that they will con- founding countries of the two countries is more than a ------must have been a prepara- tinue to cooperate with each bloc, is particularly expected mere business partnership. In On the auspicious occasion of tion period for Thailand, pri- other under His Majesty the to mark a further growth in fact, as many as 1 million Jap- the 83rd birthday of His Majes- or to taking a big leap in the king and pave the way for the exports, such as automo- anese tourists visit Thailand ty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, I fields of politics, economy solution. biles, electronic parts and ag- every year and I expect these humbly offer and other areas in the coming On the economic front, the ricultural products including exchanges to be further devel- my cordial and years. Association of Southeast rice. oped in the future. sincere con- I was deeply concerned Asian Nations (ASEAN) has The close relationship be- On this auspicious occasion gratulations to when demonstrations took emerged as one of the most tween Japan and Thailand has of His Majesty’s birthday, I the king, and place in central Bangkok this important markets in the been established over the again sincerely hope the rela- best wishes for March through May, but I am world through economic years through various politi- tionship of mutual trust fos- even better truly pleased to see now the achievements, such as the cal, economic and cultural ex- tered between Japan and health, happi- country has made successful implementation of zero tar- changes, along with the close Thailand over a number of ness and pros- efforts toward reconcilia- iffs for ASEAN-6 in January ties between the Imperial years will continue to grow perity to the king, the Royal tion. It is the people’s love as well as the China-ASEAN Family and the Royal Family. even more and become even Revered: Thai citizens hold their king in the highest regard. FOREIGN MINISTRY OF THAILAND Family and the Thai people. and respect for the king that free trade agreement. Japan has been Thailand’s stronger in the future.

The Japan Times PUBDATE: 12/5/20010 PAGE: 4 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 15:9:37

12/5/1910 / / PT SUP/PG 4/ED 1 (4) THE JAPAN TIMES SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010 5 Thailand national day/world Economic partnership grows closer Nations, hackers hound hosts

Ichiro Itoh and Eizo Kobayashi master plan in improving inte- CO-CHAIRMEN, JAPAN-THAILAND JOINT gration among Asian coun- TRADE AND ECONOMIC COMMITTEE, tries was reached last October WikiLeaks NIPPON KEIDANREN at the East Asia summit. The ------Mekong region is crucial to On behalf of Nippon Keidan- this goal and Thailand is tak- ren, we have the great honor of ing a leading role. conveying our sincere con- Japan’s business communi- fights to keep gratulations to His Majesty ty, too, wishes to contribute to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Ichiro Itoh Eizo Kobayashi the development of infrastruc- Thailand on the occasion of his ture in partnership with Thai- 83rd birthday. ment terms, which comes land, utilizing public-private In the past 30 years, the from the strong and close rela- partnerships and all other eco- website up Thai economy has achieved tionship that His Majesty King nomic cooperation schemes. remarkable growth and has Bhumibol has built with Ja- Japan hopes to contribute by even overcome difficulties pan. offering its technology and London secrets will go out at once. such as the Asian financial cri- In the aftermath of the re- know-how in energy-efficient AP ‘‘History will win,’’ Assange sis of the late 1990s. Under cent global financial crisis, products, and low-carbon ------said in a Web chat with read- such circumstances, the there is hope that Thailand, in emissions technology to pro- WikiLeaks became an Inter- ers of The Guardian newspa- amount of trade between Ja- tandem with other Asian coun- vide for a green environment net vagabond Friday, moving per, one of the media organi- pan and Thailand has been tries, will become a key player while seeking sustainable eco- from one website to another as zations helping to coordinate growing, and investment has in leading the way to world nomic growth at the same governments and hackers the documents’ publication. increased as well. economic growth. To fulfill time. hounded the organization, try- ‘‘The world will be elevated to Signs of the deepening eco- such a role, Asian countries, We would like to express our Close ties: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand meets with Prime Minister Naoto Kan ing to deprive it of a direct line a better place. Will we sur- nomic partnership were visi- including Thailand, must de- heartfelt wishes for the fur- during the APEC summit held in Yokohama in November. EMBASSY OF THAILAND to the public. vive? That depends on you.’’ ble when the two countries velop ‘‘hard’’ and ‘‘soft’’ infra- thering of cooperation be- The organization that has WikiLeaks doesn’t depend signed an economic partner- structure. Nippon Keidanren tween Japan and Thailand in embarrassed Washington and entirely on its website for dis- ship agreement in 2007. In ad- sincerely wishes to accelerate various fields, including infra- Friendly ties continue to strengthen foreign leaders by releasing a seminating secret docu- dition, an estimated 1,300 Jap- the strong collaboration be- structure development and cache of secret U.S. diplomat- ments; if it were knocked off anese companies are doing tween Japan and Thailand in green technologies, with the ic cables found a new home af- the Web, the nationless orga- business in Thailand. this regard. continued prosperity of His Teisuke Kitayama land. I had the pleasure of ket countries continue to re- ter an American company nization could continue to Japan is Thailand’s No. 1 In such an environment, a Majesty King Bhumibol and CHAIRMAN, JAPAN-THAILAND BUSINESS working and living in Thailand main on the fast expansion stopped directing traffic to communicate directly with partner in trade and invest- consensus for a connectivity the people of Thailand. FORUM for two years from 1995, and track — a two-speed world. On wikileaks.org. Then French news organizations. But the ------personally experienced the Oct. 28, the Bank of Thailand’s officials moved to oust it from site provides a direct line to On behalf of the Japan-Thai- strong partnership between Monetary Policy Committee its new site. By late Friday, the public, fulfilling the orga- land Business Forum, I would the two countries. announced an economic WikiLeaks was up in at least nization’s stated goal of maxi- like to extend my heartfelt The Japan-Thailand Busi- growth forecast for 2010 of be- three new places. mum distribution for the se- c o n g r atula- ness Forum (JTBF) was es- tween 7.3 percent and 8.0 per- ‘‘The first serious infowar is cret documents it receives tions and best tablished in August 2002 under cent. now engaged. The field of bat- from mainly anonymous con- wishes to His the patronage of the Royal Against this backdrop, the tle is WikiLeaks. You are the tributors. Majesty King Thai Embassy in Tokyo for the further enhancement of the troops,’’ tweeted John Perry U.S. Internet service pro- Bhumibol Adul- purpose of strengthening the Thai-Japanese relationship is Barlow, cofounder of the on- vider EveryDNS — a compa- yadej, the Roy- Thai-Japanese relationship. more important than ever be- line free-speech group Elec- ny based in Manchester, N.H., al Family and As of June, the JTBF has 72 fore as Japanese companies tronic Frontier Foundation. that had been directing traffic the people of members comprising top ex- have embraced globalization His message was reposted by to the website wikileaks.org — Thailand on the ecutives of leading Japanese and are increasingly shifting WikiLeaks to its 300,000-odd stopped doing so late Thurs- auspicious occasion of the 83rd companies who have worked their operations to Thailand followers. day after attacks threatened birthday of His Majesty. in Thailand. Current and for- and other Asian countries. Legal pressure increased the rest of its network. Wiki- The Thai-Japanese rela- mer top Thai government offi- It would indeed be an honor on WikiLeaks founder Julian Leaks responded by moving to tionship spans many centu- cials have honored us by be- and pleasure for the JTBF, Assange after Swedish author- a Swiss domain name, wiki- ries. Historical records attest coming JTBF counselors and with the cooperation of the ities revised a warrant for his leaks.ch — and calling on ac- to the existence of the relation- honorary counselors. Royal Thai Embassy in To- arrest in response to proce- tivists for support. ship as far back as the 15th JTBF has been sending a kyo, to contribute to the fur- dural questions from British The loss of support from century. Symbolized by the mission to Thailand once a ther strengthening of the close officials. EveryDNS is just a minor an- close relationship between the year since 2006. The global Thai-Japanese relationship by The 39-year-old Australian noyance because the website Royal Family of Thailand and economy was in a ‘‘once-in-a- continuing to promote a wide is wanted on allegations of can leap from one name to the the Imperial Family of Japan, century recession’’ when we range of economic initiatives, rape and other sex crimes that next, said Fraser Howard, a the cordial relationship be- sent a mission to Thailand in including tourism and invest- emerged after a trip to Swe- researcher with the Internet tween the two countries has 2009. Since then, the global ment, between the two coun- den in August but has not been security firm Sophos. been strengthening over the economy has been recovering tries. charged. ‘‘The whack-a-mole analogy years. In particular, the eco- thanks to governments’ stimu- To conclude, I would like to Assange said that his arrest is fairly good,’’ he said. nomic ties between the two lus packages, but not uniform- reiterate my heartfelt con- would do nothing to halt the The Swiss address directs countries have been deepen- ly. The economic recovery of gratulations to His Majesty, flow of American diplomatic traffic to servers in France, ing in the past few decades, ev- Japan and other advanced the Royal Family and the peo- cables being released by his where Industry Minister Eric idenced by the fact that well countries remains sluggish, ple of Thailand on the auspi- group and newspapers in sev- Besson called it unacceptable over 7,000 Japanese compa- while the economies of Thai- cious occasion of the 83rd eral countries, and he threat- to host a site that ‘‘violates the nies are operating in Thai- land and other emerging-mar- birthday of His Majesty. ened to escalate the rush of in- secret of diplomatic relations formation if he is taken into and puts people protected by custody. diplomatic secret in danger.’’ Hundreds of cables have The general manager of been published by WikiLeaks French web hosting company and several newspapers in re- OVH, Octave Klaba, con- History: A night view of the Thonburi area in Bangkok TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND cent days. Assange said that firmed that it had been hosting all of the cables had already WikiLeaks since early Thurs- been distributed in a heavily day, after a client asked for a Investment opportunities abound in many sectors encrypted form to tens of thou- ‘‘dedicated server with . . . sands of people. protection against attacks.’’ Asian Development Bank. ASEAN, and will enable Ja- market of more than 600 mil- If something happens to He said the company has This massive infrastructure pan to be an important partner lion people. Thailand, as a nat- him, he suggested, the pass- asked a judge to decide on the project is a lifetime opportuni- in the creation of the ASEAN ural hub on mainland South- word needed to decrypt the da- legality of hosting the site on ty for Japanese businesses to Community in 2015, a single east Asia, would provide an ta will be released and all the French soil. grow with Southeast Asia or production base and a single ideal base for Japan to be part and parcel of this ASEAN market. Extraordinary collaboration Let me conclude by inviting our Japanese friends to look to CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 nizations and WikiLeaks on our history of long and friendly what WikiLeaks will do, no the use of the material. relations as our inspiration, and clear idea what they make of ‘‘The conditions were that work together to utilize and our redactions, but if this to we could ourselves — that’s to strengthen our natural comple- any degree prevents Wiki- say our journalists and those mentarity for our mutual bene- Leaks from carelessly getting at the other newspapers — do fit in the years to come. someone killed, I’m happy to our own selection, our own tri- Finally, may I express my do it,’’ he said. ‘‘I’d be interest- age,’’ and select which docu- gratitude and appreciation to ed to hear the arguments in fa- ments to withhold from public The Japan Times and its read- vor of having WikiLeaks post view, Kauffmann said. ers for making this year’s cel- Majestic: The in Bangkok has been the official residence of the kings of Thailand its material unredacted.’’ The media outlets agreed to ebration meaningful. since the 18th century, having been constantly expanded over time. TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND U.S. Attorney General Eric work together, with about 120 Holder said last week there is journalists in total working on ‘‘an active, ongoing, criminal the project, at times debating investigation’’ into WikiLeaks’ which names of people cited in release of the material. He the documents could be pub- said it jeopardized national se- lished. curity, diplomatic efforts and ‘‘With this, I really think we U.S. relationships around the have taken all the possible world. He declined to equate precautions,’’ Kauffmann WikiLeaks to traditional news said. ‘‘At times, it comes up organizations that enjoy cer- that we’ll discuss it between tain free-speech protections. us, with the other papers, on ‘‘I think one can compare some points. One of us struck the way in which the various too much out and another said news organizations that have ‘Come on, it’s about a high offi- been involved in this have act- cial, we can leave his/her ed, as opposed to the way in name in. There won’t be any which WikiLeaks has,’’ Holder reprisals.’ ’’ said. He did not elaborate on Le Monde and El Pais came the distinction he sees be- into the media partnership late, tween WikiLeaks and the pub- about a month ago. The Times, lications. Guardian and Spiegel had al- Although WikiLeaks has said ready done quite a bit of work it will ultimately post its trove on the documents and shared it, online, The Times said it intends El Pais’ Moreno said. to publish only about 100 or so of Kauffmann declined to say the records. And the other news how or when WikiLeaks con- organizations that have the ma- tacted the publications about terial said they likely will re- the documents. They began lease only a fraction. sorting through the material ‘‘We are releasing only what after WikiLeaks obtained it. is interesting,’’ Le Monde’s Kauffmann said there was Kauffmann said. ‘‘I couldn’t no financial agreement with tell you the proportion, but the WikiLeaks. vast majority of these docu- ‘‘Never has anyone asked to ments are of no journalistic in- pay anything, and if they had, terest.’’ we probably — certainly — She said there was ‘‘no writ- would not have done so, be- ten contract’’ among the orga- cause we never pay for news.’’

The Japan Times PUBDATE: 12/5/20010 PAGE: 5 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 22:24:55

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