Bill Clinton: “Japan in Tokyo April 18, 1996 Prime Minister and Mrs. Hashimoto, the distinguished Japanese citizens here present, and…”

“Japan in Tokyo April 18, 1996 Prime Minister and Mrs. Hashimoto, the distinguished Japanese citizens here present, and my fellow Americans: Let me begin, Mr. Prime Minister, for thanking you for hosting this luncheon, and thanking the Emperor and Empress for the magnificent state visit, and all the people of Japan for making Hillary and me and the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and our entire delegation feel so very welcome here. Over the last 50 years the United States and Japan have built a remarkable partnership for peace and security, for prosperity, and for freedom. We devoted ourselves at this meeting to planning for the next 50 years of that partnership, reaffirming our security ties, talking about a Common Agenda to lead the world to a period of greater peace and prosperity. But I want to say at this luncheon that I fully realize that the work that each of you has done to bring our people closer together, day- in and day-out, over years and decades, has made possible the progress that we have achieved these last 2 days. As the Prime Minister noted, the friendship between our peoples began well over a century ago. The first known Japanese citizen to live in the United States was a young sailor named Nakahama Manjiro. He was shipwrecked in 1841, rescued by an American whaleboat, sent to school in Massachusetts. Now, Mr. Prime Minister, some of our delegation think it's a pretty good thing to be sent to school in Massachusetts.…”