Bill Clinton: “That is exactly why both the Prime Minister and I today said that we have made a common commitment not to allow our…”

“That is exactly why both the Prime Minister and I today said that we have made a common commitment not to allow our entire relationship to be defined by a trade difference. Even in the area of trade, we've made 15 agreements in 2\1/2\ years. That's pretty impressive. Even though the autos and auto parts are a bigger part of our economy, a bigger part of their economy, and a bigger part of the trade imbalance than all these other things combined, they are still significant. And in other areas--what Japan and South Korea and the United States are doing with the North Korean nuclear problem is a matter of profound importance to every Japanese citizen, every American citizen, and all the people who live in North Asia. The things that we can do together to deal with problems like biological and chemical weapons being used in terrorist attacks--we are both more vulnerable to that as we open our societies to the 21st century--to organized forces of destruction. The responsibilities we both have to the rest of the world to try to lead in environmental protection, in the fight against AIDS, and many other areas, these matters make it imperative that we maintain the closeness of our relationship. And we have pledged to each other today that however difficult our differences get in one area or the other of this relationship, we will not let it destroy the bonds of friendship and common values that are imperative for not only the American and the Japanese people but for the entire world. Prime Minister Murayama. The President has said it all, so I really don't have anything to add. But this cooperation based on Japan-U.S. relationship will contribute not only to the Asian economy but contributes very importantly to the world economy as well. So that is our common understanding. It is from that vantage point that we engage in cooperation on issues of global scale which we have referred to. So we both have reaffirmed that we will continue cooperation in those areas as well.”