PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers Presentation Ceremony at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan

Prime Minister Abe, ladies and gentlemen. I am very honoured to receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers posthumously awarded to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew. I would like to thank the Government and people of Japan for this award.

Mr Lee laid great importance on developing relations with Japan. From the very first days of our independence, Mr Lee adopted a forward-looking and constructive approach towards bilateral relations. As a result, over the decades, Japan became one of Singapore’s strongest partners. You played a major role in our industrialisation and economic development. Mr Lee made many visits to Japan and also received many Japanese visitors in Singapore. These frequent high-level exchanges helped to nurture and deepen our relationship. Mr Lee personally knew many Japanese political and business leaders. Quite a few of them, like Mr Miyazawa and Mr Nakasone, became personal friends. Mr Lee was great admirer of Japan’s work ethic, discipline and productivity. I would therefore like to thank Prime Minister Abe for making a special effort to attend Mr Lee’s State Funeral last year. 50 years on, Singapore and Japan enjoy excellent ties. There is great potential for enhancing and growing the relationship. Let us build on the foundation laid by Mr Lee and successive generations of Japanese leaders and work towards taking our bilateral relations to greater heights.

Thank you very much.