(Hanoi, June 23, 1997)

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for your kind introduction. It is a great pleasure to be here to celebrate the inauguration of the Computer Center for Nuclear Science. I have enormous respect for Vietnam's proven ability to commit itself to new and challenging scientific ventures. As we approach the twenty-first century, I am confident that the buds of Vietnamese scientific creativity will blossom into a truly great age of progress and achievement.

Of course it is marvelous to be able to share this splendid occasion with so many distinguished guests, but I woul like to pay tribute to two people who, unfortunately, cannot be with us.

Professor Nguyen Dinh Tu was an outstanding individual, who had a passionate interest in regenerating Vietnamese science and technology. He was an intellectual giant, a visionary leader, and - I am proud to say - a close friend.

And another close friend, Dr. Kohji Mizusawa was an exceptional director of technical strategy at NEC, who helped to orchestrate his company's support for CCNS. His enthousiasm and commitment gave the CCNS project much of its early momentum.

As Dr. Tran Thanh Minh has already explained, the background to the CCNS project stretches back to an international conference addressing "Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in the Late Nineties", held - here in Hanoi - back in March 1994, which as a major gathering of the world's leading nuclear physicists. I had the good fortune to attend and, on the last day, made a speech that included four recommendations for further stimulating Vietnam's efforts in nuclear physics. These advocated:

Concerning the last item, Japan has had valuable experience with computer centers. We established our first computer center at the University of Tokyo in 1964 and others followed. I was rather younger then and clearly remember the advantages of enabling scientists from across Japan to use the center. It provided a fantastic educational opportunity and I was one of the many grateful users.

After the 1994 Hanoi conference, I received many letters from Vietnamese scientists about the implementation of my ideas for revitalizing nuclear physics in Vietnam. I especially recall that my good friend, the late Professor Nguyen Dinh Tu, fully recognized the value of having a Vietnam Computer Center that would operate as a national resource for scientific research. Inspired by the growing interest in a Vietnam Computer Center, I set about trying to secure support for the project from friends and colleagues in Japan. I am delighted that Fujitsu and NEC have been able to help and would like to thank them for their vital contribution to CCNS. They have made the project possible!

I know that four Vietnamese ministries have made extraordinary efforts to connect CCNS to the Internet and I would like to express my sincere appreciation. Moreover, I am grateful to everyone who has worked to support CCNS. From a purely personal point of view, the opportunity to participate in today's ceremony marks one of those precious moments in life when you can see a dream turns into a reality.

While applied research plays a vital role in economic development, there is parallel need to encourage original research and creativilty. Basic science embodies a potential to solve problems that will underpin the prosperity and social welfare of future generations. I am happy that RIKEN is in a position to expand its contribution to international progress in basic research. Moreover, Japan is actively seeking to improve its education system and increase budgets for basic science.

In recent years, the rapid growth of leading East Asian economies has encouraged Western speculation about the development of a regional area comparable to the economic significance of Western Europe or the US. Although the case of East Asia is rather different from Europe and the US, which effectively led the world into an industrial era. For example, Japan and its neighbouring countries have histories of relatively recent industrialization and greater fragmentation across the region. While I believe that there is a need for extreme caution in talking about an Asian equivalent of the European community, I hope that East Asia will be able to move towards a counterpart to CERN and encourage academic exchange in a manner similar to Europe's Erasmus Program.

I am confident that the Computer Center for Nuclear Science will prove to be an important landmark in the history of East Asian science and an important symbol of closer scientific cooperation between Japan and Vietnam. Let's work together to build science that our children can be proud of!

Successful collaboration across international borders depends on hard work to establish mutual understanding about each other's circumstances, and find the most appropriate way to work together.

Special thanks are due to my smart collaborator, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Dang, who has played a leading role in bringing this project to fruition. His contribution has been outstanding.

And at RIKEN, I know that many scientists and administrators have been making unceasing efforts to establish CCNS, with Mr. Michio Seki acting as a coordinator.

In closing, I would like to say thank you to everybody who had work so hard to bring the CCNS project to fruition. You have given us a tremendous opportunity and I look forward to the future with excitement!

Thank you.