JR’s Ghost at the Tokyo Table

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) sat down in Tokyo this week expecting hard talk on trade, debt, and maritime security. Instead, the ghosts of Sri Lanka’s political past came knocking — in the form of J.R. Jayewardena.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stunned the room by lavishing praise on JR, the one-time political nemesis of AKD’s ideological tradition.

The 1951 Moment That Changed Japan

Ishiba recalled the San Francisco Peace Conference of 1951, when a young J.R. Jayewardena rose before the world and declared: “Hatred ceases not by hatred, but by love.”

It was the speech that freed Japan from the shadow of punitive reparations and gave the defeated nation a chance to rejoin the world.

“Such actions by Sri Lanka laid the foundation for the prosperity Japan enjoys today,” Ishiba said, pointedly noting that Tokyo has never forgotten JR’s gift of forgiveness.

Awkward Praise, Silent Smile

For AKD, the irony was thick. Here was Japan’s Prime Minister extolling the virtues of a man AKD’s own political lineage had long opposed — the architect of the open economy that the left once fiercely resisted.

Diplomats at the table say AKD offered a polite smile as the tribute flowed, but the gossip in Colombo is that it stung: listening to your rival’s legacy being toasted abroad while you hold the office of president is never easy.

Deals Beyond the Dinner

Still, AKD didn’t let history overshadow the present. The summit delivered concrete gains: unmanned aerial vehicles from Japan for maritime monitoring and disaster relief, plus fresh commitments on debt restructuring, trade, and security cooperation.

Dissanayake responded graciously, telling reporters that Sri Lanka “takes pride in Jayewardena’s legacy” and looks forward to strengthening the partnership with Japan across multiple sectors.

“Hatred ceases not by hatred, but by love”

One line dominated the Tokyo trip — not from AKD, but from JR.

Seventy-four years later, “Hatred ceases not by hatred, but by love” is still winning Sri Lanka friends.

And it left today’s president caught between diplomacy, history, and the long shadow of a political ghost.