Japanese Government that had played a leading role in the peace negotiation of Cambodia from the late 1980's, thought it was essential to make a continuous international cooperation for their postwar social rehabilitation. As a symbolic project, the Safeguard of the Angkor monuments was started under the international cooperation by Japanese and French governments. JSA is to carry out major part of the purpose, which is clear and easily understood its important significance. However, it is quite another story as to how we could carry out actual restoration and conservation to fulfill the purpose.

In order for the Cambodian people to restore the monuments by themselves, what is the cooperation that we can offer? How can such activities lead to Japanese-Cambodian friendship, international cooperation and restoration of the Cambodian society? We have explored answers to these subjects and brief our thoughts as follows.

Ancestors of the Khmer were superior in idea and sense of balancing out an ecological circulation of water, native climate of the land and newly introduced techniques. This trait is expressed in the placement, construction method and formation of the monuments. Therefore, in order to preserve and inherit these unique concepts of the Khmer to the later generations, we have to restore these monuments. When we ask a question as to what do we appeal to the world from Cambodia, it is not only the timing that Cambodian began to take shape for becoming independent and making restoration by themselves, but also for Japanese to face to the world as a subject of its own.

When we pass on our knowledge and technology to the Cambodian people and to perspire together at the site, what we find through this close relationship in every respect will never be one-way cooperation. It is a strong will of believing future together, backed by our shared feeling of revival of the past.