Bill Clinton: “Good afternoon. Before turning to my meeting with Prime Minister Murayama let me begin by thanking Prime Minister…”

“Good afternoon. Before turning to my meeting with Prime Minister Murayama let me begin by thanking Prime Minister Chretien and the people of Halifax for welcoming Hillary and me and our delegation to Canada. Even on our short boat ride across the harbor, we could see why this city and indeed all of Nova Scotia are favorite sights for so many American tourists. I hope the important business we do here won't prevent us from enjoying a little of this very beautiful place. Our business began today with the meeting with Prime Minister Murayama, the third in the constructive dialog we began last November. Our discussion focused on the strength of the U.S.-Japan relationship, and we are determined to make it stronger still. Never have the ties between our nations been more important, and never have they been closer. Our two great democracies are also the world's largest economies. Together we make up more than 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product. And trade between our people is growing rapidly. Our security ties have never been closer. Friends and foes alike know the Japanese-American relationship is the most important force for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Every day our people work together on the vital challenges of our times, protecting the environment, responding to natural disasters, combating the deadly trade in illegal drugs, and fighting the terrorists who have threatened both our nations from abroad and from within. No issue is more important to our nations than stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Murayama and I, along with our South Korean allies, have worked tirelessly on our strategy to stop the development of North Korea's nuclear program. We pledged to push forward with this week's important agreement to implement that strategy. Japan has agreed to make a significant contribution to the light-water reactors that will supply energy to the North Koreans without producing weapons-grade materials. And I thank the Prime Minister for Japan's ongoing commitment to the fight against weapons of mass destruction. The Prime Minister briefed me on plans for the upcoming meeting of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. APEC, as all of you know, has become an essential part of America's strategy for regional prosperity. Japan and the United States will work together so that November's meeting in Osaka sustains the momentum toward free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific region, achieved in Seattle and Indonesia last year. We also discussed our progress and our disagreements on trade. Fifteen times since the beginning of my administration, the United States and Japan have concluded agreements to open markets and increase trade across a wide variety of products and services. The latest, reached just this week, offers tax and financial incentives to Americans who want to establish on-the-ground operations in Japan. The Prime Minister and I also agreed to extend the 1993 framework on trade negotiations, and I am optimistic that that will advance both our interests in free and open trade. Once again, this proves that our countries can and do work together to solve our disputes and enable American companies to better compete in the Japanese market. But we also, as all of you know, have real differences. The Prime Minister and I discussed the problem of access for U.S. airline cargo car- riers to the Japanese market, for example. I again expressed to the Prime Minister my concern that Japan honor rights that our carriers now have guaranteed under existing civil aviation agreements. On the difficult issue of autos and auto parts, we had a frank and open exchange of our views. We agreed that our negotiators should redouble their efforts to seek a solution to those differences when they meet in Geneva next week. But I made it clear that I am determined to carry through on my effort to open Japan's auto markets. Billions of dollars in American exports and thousands of American jobs are at stake. They depend upon our success. Opening these markets, as I have said repeatedly, will benefit not only the United States but Japanese consumers as well. I have instructed our negotiators to pursue every possible avenue of resolution before the June 28 deadline, and I remain hopeful that an acceptable, meaningful agreement can be reached. But if a solution cannot be found by the deadline, I will impose sanctions, and the United States will also pursue a case before the World Trade Organization. At times like these, it is tempting to focus only on the differences that bring our two nations to the negotiating table. But I ask you again not to lose sight of the broader truths of our relationship. Only decades after the end of the terrible war that pitted our people against each other, the United States and Japan are allies and share a profound commitment to democracy, security, and prosperity. Our common agenda embraces everything from the fight to preserve our global environment to the global fight against AIDS, promoting the cause of women in developing countries, now to working together on natural disasters like earthquakes and dealing with our common concerns after Oklahoma City and the terrible incident in the Japanese subway with terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In any relationship as broad and deep as ours, there will always be differences. But the United States and Japan agree, no one issue, no one difference, will allow us to undermine our alliance or stop us from pursuing our shared goal and our common interests. Our two great democracies will never rest in our pursuit of a better, a safer, and a more prosperous future for all of our people. Mr. Prime Minister. Prime Minister Murayama. In my meeting with President Clinton for a couple of hours, until a while ago, I engaged in a candid exchange of views on the present and future of Japan-U.S. relations and the stance that we'll take as we go to the G-7 summit meeting. And I think the meeting was very meaningful. The Japan-U.S. relations have grown over the past 50 years, since the end of the Second World War, and are connected by a strong bond of cooperation and collaboration. President Clinton and I confirmed that security dialog is progressing smoothly. Thanks to the President's cooperation, the issue of U.S. military bases in Okinawa has seen important progress. And the response to North Korea's nuclear development issue, which seemed to test our bilateral collaboration, has produced important results, thanks to the solidarity of our two countries and the Republic of Korea, and it is a matter that we expressed appreciation for. Common agenda--that is to say, our cooperation from global perspectives--is a symbol of creative partnership between our two countries. We today received a joint report containing new areas of cooperation. And the President and I are of the view that such cooperation should be promoted further. As was mentioned earlier by the President, we also discussed the auto issue as well as the civil aviation issue. While the two countries remain apart on these issues, the President and I see eye to eye that we both will do our utmost to settle the issue as early as possible through the consultations slated for next week in Geneva. By the way, since the President has alluded to this matter, I should like to say that I asked for expeditious removal of the unilateral measures since they violate the rules and spirit of the World Trade Organization. Now, in connection with that, including the civil aviation issue, we both agree that Japan-U.S. relations are a bilateral relationship of vital importance, so much so that the auto issue and aviation issue should not be allowed to adversely affect the overall Japan-U.S. relations. We'll welcome President and Mrs. Clinton as state guests in November. Today's meeting with the President took place at a midpoint between my visit to Washington, DC, earlier, in January, and his visit to Japan in November. I am determined to further strengthen our bilateral partnership in the run up to the President's visit and beyond into the future. Lastly, I proposed to the President to hold a bilateral symposium of seismologists on earthquakes, in order to enable the peoples of our two countries who have experienced the great Hanshin earthquake and the Northridge earthquake, respectively, make the most of their experiences and the lessons. And the President has agreed to the proposal. Thank you. Japan-U.S. Trade”