ANZAC Day Speech by Ambassador Kikuta
2026/4/24
The Honourable Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General Dato Paduka Seri Awang Halbi, Minister of Defence II, Brunei Darussalam,
His Excellency Mr. Michael Hoy, High Commissioner, Australia,
Excellencies, Distinguished guests,
Very good early morning to you all.
I’m standing here with a solemn state of mind again today.
Last year, I had the honour to attend this ceremony, and I expressed my sincere gratitude to the Australian High Commissioner and the Government of Brunei Darussalam for their spirit of reconciliation and tolerance in allowing my participation. I laid flowers with deep respect of the soldiers including Australian prisoners of war who lost their lives on the battlefield or in the jungle regardless of friend or foe, as well as with deep remorse for the local residents who were forced to endure indescribable suffering, and with the feelings of my family and myself as the bereaved family of war dead.
Sometime after the ceremony, the Australian High Commissioner told me about the Surrender Point in Labuan Island. Although Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, many Japanese troops deployed to the Pacific Islands were not informed of the end of the war by their headquarters and continued to confront the Allied forces. On Monday September 10, 1945, the Japanese forces in Labuan finally surrendered to the Australian forces, marking the end of World War II on Borneo.
So, I visited there privately at the end of last year. I found that on the eastern side of the island, near the current airport, there is an Allied War Cemetery, which also contains a memorial to Indian military units. The cemetery was beautifully decorated with flowers, and I learned that a memorial service is held there every year. I also learned that the largest allied war cemetery in Malaysia is that cemetery located in the Labuan Island.
On the western side of the island, in the vicinity of where the Japanese military force once built a military airfield, there is the Peace Park known as “Taman Damai”, which features “the Peace Monument” memorial stone. On this occasion today, please allow me to quote the inscription posted there.
“This memorial is erected by the Japanese South-Pacific Friendship Association in September 1976 to preserve the memories of all the soldiers who fought and fell in this island and the memories of all the civilians who unnaturally perished. May it stand as a lasting monument of human devotion to duty and symbolise the fervent hope of every man, woman and child on this land that never again will this island be a witness to so much sufferings and miserys.”
And engraved on the Peace Monument were the words “PEACE IS THE BEST.”
I was once posted in the Hague as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands. Right near my home stood the Indisch Monument, dedicated to the memory of those who fell victim to the Japanese occupation of Indonesia during the World War II. Every year on August 15, the day of Japan’s unconditional surrender, the National Commemoration ceremony is held there. However, Japan was the only country not invited to that ceremony. It was customary for me to lay flowers there alone on the morning of the following day, watched over by a single Dutch staff member. I remember I wished that someday Japan also would be invited on the 15th and be able to lay flowers alongside the other nations. Yet, the situation remains unchanged to this day.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the recent international arena, growing divisions and instability are becoming increasingly evident, and there is also a rise in cases where innocent people fall victim to the use of force. I am convinced that what we need now is not an escalation of hatred but rather to deepen mutual understanding and continue to make every effort to coexist while respecting differing viewpoints.
The fact that I was invited once again to this ceremony today with the opportunity to speak truly embodies the spirit of Brunei Darussalam, the “Abode of Peace.” Standing here before the Brunei-Australia Memorial on Pantai Muara, I would like to reiterate the words engraved on the memorial stone in Labuan.
“PEACE IS THE BEST.”
Thank you for your kind attention.
His Excellency Mr. Michael Hoy, High Commissioner, Australia,
Excellencies, Distinguished guests,
Very good early morning to you all.
I’m standing here with a solemn state of mind again today.
Last year, I had the honour to attend this ceremony, and I expressed my sincere gratitude to the Australian High Commissioner and the Government of Brunei Darussalam for their spirit of reconciliation and tolerance in allowing my participation. I laid flowers with deep respect of the soldiers including Australian prisoners of war who lost their lives on the battlefield or in the jungle regardless of friend or foe, as well as with deep remorse for the local residents who were forced to endure indescribable suffering, and with the feelings of my family and myself as the bereaved family of war dead.
Sometime after the ceremony, the Australian High Commissioner told me about the Surrender Point in Labuan Island. Although Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, many Japanese troops deployed to the Pacific Islands were not informed of the end of the war by their headquarters and continued to confront the Allied forces. On Monday September 10, 1945, the Japanese forces in Labuan finally surrendered to the Australian forces, marking the end of World War II on Borneo.
So, I visited there privately at the end of last year. I found that on the eastern side of the island, near the current airport, there is an Allied War Cemetery, which also contains a memorial to Indian military units. The cemetery was beautifully decorated with flowers, and I learned that a memorial service is held there every year. I also learned that the largest allied war cemetery in Malaysia is that cemetery located in the Labuan Island.
On the western side of the island, in the vicinity of where the Japanese military force once built a military airfield, there is the Peace Park known as “Taman Damai”, which features “the Peace Monument” memorial stone. On this occasion today, please allow me to quote the inscription posted there.
“This memorial is erected by the Japanese South-Pacific Friendship Association in September 1976 to preserve the memories of all the soldiers who fought and fell in this island and the memories of all the civilians who unnaturally perished. May it stand as a lasting monument of human devotion to duty and symbolise the fervent hope of every man, woman and child on this land that never again will this island be a witness to so much sufferings and miserys.”
And engraved on the Peace Monument were the words “PEACE IS THE BEST.”
I was once posted in the Hague as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands. Right near my home stood the Indisch Monument, dedicated to the memory of those who fell victim to the Japanese occupation of Indonesia during the World War II. Every year on August 15, the day of Japan’s unconditional surrender, the National Commemoration ceremony is held there. However, Japan was the only country not invited to that ceremony. It was customary for me to lay flowers there alone on the morning of the following day, watched over by a single Dutch staff member. I remember I wished that someday Japan also would be invited on the 15th and be able to lay flowers alongside the other nations. Yet, the situation remains unchanged to this day.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the recent international arena, growing divisions and instability are becoming increasingly evident, and there is also a rise in cases where innocent people fall victim to the use of force. I am convinced that what we need now is not an escalation of hatred but rather to deepen mutual understanding and continue to make every effort to coexist while respecting differing viewpoints.
The fact that I was invited once again to this ceremony today with the opportunity to speak truly embodies the spirit of Brunei Darussalam, the “Abode of Peace.” Standing here before the Brunei-Australia Memorial on Pantai Muara, I would like to reiterate the words engraved on the memorial stone in Labuan.
“PEACE IS THE BEST.”
Thank you for your kind attention.