 I'm very happy that this panel is not just composed of Europeans, so not as a therapeutic session, if you will, self-referential session, but also emphasizing on the look from abroad on Europe. And that's why I'm delighted to have with us the president of the Okamoto Associates. He's also a former special advisor to two Japanese prime ministers and a former career diplomat, one of his posts, took him also as ambassador to Paris, so he knows Europe very well. Delighted to have him with us, Yukio Okamoto, ladies and gentlemen. Now Yukio, you heard many Europeans and non-Europeans talk about the current state. I hope it didn't put you in too much of a depression, but we are very eager, of course, to hear from one of the leading nations in Asia how Europe is being perceived over there. Is it still a force to be reckoned with? Is it still an element that can play a vital role in international affairs? Very curious to hear the perspective from Japan. Well, thank you, Mr. Aslan. Well, thank you for including the dimension of Japan-EU relationship to this panel. My depression does not come from your talks, but from the way we look at the future of the world. From the Japanese point of view, at least for many Japanese, the future of the world looks quite bleak, gloomy, sometimes even oppressive, with three dictators going to influence the world affairs for a long time. Yes, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi Jinping, I believe, will change their internal rules to be able to stay there even after they expected the term. Mr. Putin will, of course, win the next year's election by landslide, but will he step down in 2024? I don't think so. He may change the rule to be able to stay till 2030, because there will be only 71 when 2024 comes. Mr. Xi Jinping, he has already made his move clear that he's not going to be bound by the internal party rule for stepping down after 10 years. So from 2022, the party 20th convention till 21st convention of 2027, he'll be there. Mr. Kim Jong-un, unless he's eliminated, will be there for 30, 40 years. And we have territorial disputes from all these countries. And we even feel that the world order, which we have endeavored so hard to build in 20th century based on the common universal value, may come to an erosion. And looking at the United States, we are going to have quite a unique president. I said Mr. Trump will be a good president for Japan, but will he be a good president for the world? I don't know. It remains to be seen, but the past record does not encourage us very much listening to his inaugural speech. And then the past United Nations General Assembly speech this past September, where he essentially said that the United States will only mind its own business. And all the countries should do the same, will be the shining example. Now who are going to look after the public goods? So I have been campaigning in Japan everywhere that now Japan should be really one of the banner bearers to support the public goods and departing from the diplomacy of rhetoric. And who in the world can we partner with? There's only EU. EU is the best partner for Japan to do this new campaign. First of all, Europe is sharing the common destiny in terms of security with Asia. If, as Mr. Luthian said, Kim Jong-un shoots his missiles westbound, it will cover the entire Europe very soon. We are in one unity. We don't have to wait for the ambitious plan of one-built, one-road concept of China. Like I mentioned, we have so many complementariness. We both lack resources and the efficient use of natural resources is incumbent upon Japan and Europe. There are a lot of other complementariness, which I'll leave it to a smart international relations student. Anyone can tell you that. So in the remaining minutes, I am going to say something other people will never say. That is, it will benefit Japan greatly to partner with EU. But have we come really to the reconciliation with Europe? We have not been able to settle the issue of POW with the United Kingdom, not with Netherlands. And we have not created a new era with Germany. There was an interesting BBC research done two years ago asking Japanese and German people, do you like Germany? Do you like Japan? And Japanese love Germans. They consider Germany to be the war partner before the war together. And close to half the population answers, we have mainly positive view about Germany as against only 3% saying we have mainly negative view about Germany. Now the same public opinion poll in Germany tells diametrically opposite result. With only 27% of Germans saying they have mainly positive view about Japan. But those people who have mainly negative view about Japan, 46% as against Japan 3%. I don't know, my conjecture is that still many Germans think that Japan is the partner of Nazis who brought the country to destruction. And Japan has a partial responsibility in that. I think we have to really make our current set of values clear to German people. But the blame should fall also on us. Have we been squarely facing with the past? Why have we not come to the reconciliation with other Asian nations? Of course we have our own positions. We have been apologizing over and over again to Asian countries. The war reparation from late 1950s to 60s amounted to almost 30% of our national budget. But no matter what we do, we are not really being forgiven, especially by China and Korea. I teach at the university, my students are asking Mr. Okamoto, how long do we have to keep apologizing? And I understand them, I'm sympathetic to them because it's not even the doings of their grandfathers. It's something done by their great grandfathers or sometimes great great grandfathers but they have to live with the shackles of the past sin for many many years. And looking at Europe, I mean the amount of the level of reconciliation you've reached is very impressive and I think it is incumbent on Japan to really reform our education system. There's nothing wrong with the textbooks. I tell you I read all the 27 textbooks taught in high schools but they are fair but they're not really taught to students in an obligatory manner. We have to do that and we have to make this repentance and our resolution clear to future generations. And I think what we will learn in dealing with Europe, especially EU, will really help us to acquire the new dimension how we can transcend the past to come to grips with the past and through the collective wisdom to approach the final reconciliation in Asia. I think that's what we are going to benefit from our union. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Yukio Okamoto saying that Europe is and remain a vital pillar for relationships not just in political terms but also security terms and looking at the reconciliation process that still needs to be furthered between Japan and the European continent.