Addresses and Press ConferencesTheir Majesties the Emperor and EmpressAddresses by Their Majesties the Emperor and EmpressKeynote Lecture by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan The Bandung Spirit Water Summit The 10th World Water Forum(through Video) I am pleased to give this keynote lecture to the Bandung Spirit Water Summit of the 10th World Water Forum in Bali, Indonesia that is blessed with lush greenery and a rich water culture. Before I start, I would like to highlight that this and last year have seen disasters in Asia and the Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Small Island States, as well as other parts of the world. In Japan, a large-scale earthquake and tsunami hit the Noto Peninsula and the surrounding Hokuriku Region on January the 1st. I would like to express my deepest condolences to all the victims of these disasters around the world, and my sympathy for all who are affected by them. It is my sincere wish that the areas that have been devastated by these disasters may swiftly be recovered and reconstructed.
In my lecture today, I will address the theme of this forum, “Water for Shared Prosperity”. Please look at this picture (Fig.1). This is a stone inscription known as the “Tugu”. This artefact was found in the village of Tugu near Jakarta and is on display in the National Museum of Indonesia. The stone is believed to date back to the mid-5th Century A.D. during the period of the Taruma Kingdom. The inscription reveals that King Purnawarman oversaw the excavation of the Candrabhaga and Gomati rivers that channelled the water flow into the sea. The channels were thought to have been dug to drain floodwater to the sea. I learned about this stone during a symposium in Tokyo last year in February. Together with my wife Masako, I had an opportunity to examine it firsthand during my official visit to Indonesia (Fig.2). I was deeply impressed by the longstanding efforts and ingenuity of the Indonesian people at various levels in dealing with floods with foresight, which I could recognize from this stone and other exhibits.
Let me give you an example from Japan from the 17th century to the 19th century (Fig.3): Tokyo is the current capital of Japan and was called Edo at that time. Under the policies of the feudal government of the Edo shogunate, the excrement and urine collected in urban areas was carried to outlying farming villages through rivers and canals to be used as manure. In return cultivated vegetables were sent from rural areas to Edo. In this way a recycling society was formed in this period. The Shogunate also made use of existing rivers to develop water supply and canal networks. The Shogunate utilized them for water use and flood management, building the basis of the development of the society. Last year, I visited a museum that introduces this history, and was reminded of how much a sustainable development in society is linked to water.
As I have outlined through these cases, in the history around the world, water is pivotal to sustainable economic and social development. The quest for human prosperity and happiness has been pursued through the development of water facilities, the formation of water cultures, and the conservation of the water environment and natural ecosystems.
Let us now shift our focus to other parts of the present world. These are photos of the Mwea Irrigation in Kenya in Africa (Fig.4). Nerica rice is cultivated in the irrigation scheme as it grows with less water than ordinary rice. While there are many arid zones in the region, its soil is diverse and fertile in many areas, and irrigation systems can transform them into rich agricultural fields. Some of the zones with the highest rainfall are also in Africa. Development of hydropower and navigation is expected in those areas. Africa stands as a region with a vast potential for development and prosperity through its water.
Discussions for the UN 2030 Agenda often come to the point that water is closely connected to all SDGs. It is natural because the connection is deeply rooted in the longstanding relations between water and human beings as I have tried to explain through these examples.
So far, I have spoken about developing human prosperity through water. Now, I would like to speak on sharing prosperity through water. The 2030 Agenda focuses on “no one left behind”. Sharing prosperity is just as important an objective as achieving prosperity.
Sharing water has long been a serious issue among people as water lies at the heart of lives and livelihoods. The left side of this photo shows the Tsujun Bridge, a national treasure in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan (Fig.5). The bridge is only for the use of irrigation water. The photo on the right shows a water distribution facility called the “Cylinder Distributor” which is located upstream of the bridge. This facility was invented about 110 years ago and has spread throughout Japan. Water flows upward from the bottom of the cylinder (Fig.6). It spills over the top (Fig.7), divided by partitions at the edge, and falls into receiving channels. The amount of distributed water corresponds exactly to the width of the partition. This cylinder distributor can be seen as a good example of how to share water in an equitable, transparent and commonly-agreed upon manner.
I also learned that a rich culture of water sharing, called Subak, has been developed here in Bali (Fig.8). Subak is a system of efficient water use, shared in an equitable and transparent manner. The system helps people to work together by sharing the responsibilities and benefits of water management, using locally available techniques and materials. Religious beliefs about water, respect for nature, and community collaboration to share valuable water are fused within Subak, leading to a harmonious society and contributing to the prosperity of people.
These cultures that share water and various historical facilities around the world show how societies have continued to co-exist with nature, sharing the efforts and benefits of development and prosperity through water. I sincerely hope that humankind will continue to learn from such good examples and further prosper through water, leading to a world where we share the fruits of our efforts.
We cannot avoid addressing disasters when discussing human prosperity. Disasters are one of the largest challenges in achieving the SDGs.
Due to the Noto Earthquake Disaster which occurred on January the 1st of this year in Japan (Fig.9), over 240 people were lost or are missing, and over 110,000 houses and buildings were lost or damaged, by strong quakes, slope slides, tsunamis, fires, and other phenomena. Masako and I twice visited the disaster area together.
This is Shiromaru District of Noto Town which was hit by the earthquake and tsunami (Fig.10). A tsunami over 4 meters high hit the district. In this picture (Fig.11), the tsunami reached to the upper floor of a house on the right as seen by the trace of damage on the wall under a broken red line, while the neighboring building on the left collapsed by the seismic impact. This shows us that we need to be prepared for multiple impacts of seismic movement, tsunamis and so on in a disaster.
This photo shows a world agricultural heritage site named “Shiroyone Senmaida”, or One Thousand Terraces of White Rice, that was hit by the disaster (Fig.12). I have visited this site twice, once during my high school student days. Like the beautiful rice terrace of subak, as in the photographs I showed earlier, it was a place of exceptional beauty, where clear water exquisitely runs through a number of step terraces. This time I flew over the heritage site during my visit to the affected area. I learned that there are many cracks cutting through the terraces and damage in water channels reported in the site (Fig.13). I felt the huge seismic energy that struck the area. I sincerely hope for the early recovery of the entire affected area, including heritage sites. Several days ago, I came across the news that about 120 rice fields, or 12% of the total, had been planted in this Shiroyone Senmaida by owners inside and outside the prefecture. I hope that this will become an opportunity for recovery and reconstruction of the region.
Water is one of the major post-disaster challenges, as witnessed in the aftermath of this earthquake of the Noto Peninsula(Fig.14). Large-scale water outage and hygienic problems including access to toilets ensued after the earthquake. The issues related to water and disasters are wide-ranging, including dealing with hygiene issues immediately after disasters such as the prompt recovery of water supply systems, provision of portable toilets and so on, as well as securing seismic resilience. The sharing of such experience and knowledge, as well as the understanding and actions regarding the importance of preparation are needed on a global scale.
As we have seen, every disaster reveals new lessons. We can build back better by overcoming them one step at a time. This photo shows the Pluit Pumping Station located on the coast of Jakarta (Fig.15). This station was built based on experiences of disaster in Japan. I have been told that it is making a significant contribution to reducing flood risks in the area. I visited this facility last June and learned that 10 large-capacity pumps operate in a timely manner, linking to the levels of flood water, to achieve its objective of drainage. After hearing this explanation, I realized the importance of this flood control facility in the capital, and was impressed by the strenuous efforts of the people involved who work day and night to operate it.
Further progress in science and technology and training of experts are also a prerequisite to adaptation to climate change and meeting the challenges of water-related disasters. The Sabo Technical Center, which I visited in Yogyakarta, has trained many engineers since its establishment in 1982 in collaboration between Japan and Indonesia (Fig.16). I was told that the center is now a key institution for Indonesia to expand its technical assistance to neighboring countries. I hope that the growth and interaction of people, particularly the youth, will be fostered through this Center and other such institutions, leading to economic and social development rooted in the water field.
As I have tried to explain today, humankind has formed diverse cultures, developed economies and societies, and has shared their benefits. With this as a background, countries have taken concrete actions which have born fruit in recent decades. For example, in the past 22 years, 2.1 billion people newly gained access to safely managed water and 2.5 billion to safely managed sanitation.
On the other hand, we cannot be overly optimistic about current and future water challenges. Access speed to safely managed water and sanitation needs to be 6 times or 5 times faster than the current rates respectively in order to achieve the internationally agreed targets of the SDG6. Many of the challenges that the international community currently faces, such as climate change, food, energy, poverty, employment, gender inequality, education, health, and peace are deeply connected to water.
The UN Water Conference was held in March last year for the first time in 46 years. Over 800 actions were registered in the Water Action Agenda. This 10th World Water Forum that is held a year later is expected to follow up on its outcomes and trigger broader discussions and actions. It is my sincere wish that discussions on water generated by this series of world water fora will be further deepened in this World Water Forum in Bali, leading to the realization of prosperity through water with no one left behind. I, together with you, will continue to pay sincere interest in water issues.
Thank you
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