BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
The Ambassador of Japan to the Solomon Islands, His Excellency Keiichi Higuchi said Japan’s commitment to the development of Solomon Islands goes beyond unexploded ordnance (UXO).
He highlighted this in an exclusive interview with Island Sun on Thursday this week, when he responded to an article published in this paper on Monday, August 25, 2025.
The article had insinuated that Japan and the US had not done anything towards the UXO clearance effort in the Solomon Islands. The article has since been retracted.
“I want to say that our office and embassy here remain very focused on what we can do towards the improvement of life in Solomon Islands. Not just UXO, but all kinds of aspects of life here in the Solomon Islands.
“We will continue to be committed to the development of this country. That also covers the area of UXO as well, but it’s much broader and has a very deep root in all the provinces. Not just Guadalcanal, but some of the remote provinces we have,” said Keiichi.
He said that Japan keeps sending volunteers and keeps listening to the needs of local provinces.
He said that Solomon Islands is fortunate in the sense that it has a lot more land than some other Pacific Island nations.
“But Solomon Islands does have a lot of landmass area that, if cleared of UXOs, can be put to good use. Even with such a population increase, I think your country has some room to grow, unlike other less fortunate Pacific Island countries,” he said.
He said that Japan discussed with Solomon Islands National University (SINU) recently about agricultural help to reduce the non-communicable disease (NCD).
“We’re bringing in more experts to help with all aspects of welfare in this country. I want to state that that’s a very clear position that we have,” he said.
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