George H.W. Bush: “And to the Japanese here, let me say how important we view this part of our trip. The trip is not simply about jobs and…”

“And to the Japanese here, let me say how important we view this part of our trip. The trip is not simply about jobs and business. This is a terribly important part of it. But given the breadth of understanding of this Prime Minister, we've been able to talk about world security problems, about a global partnership, about the big picture. To guarantee that this big picture continues to unfold in a positive way, we must make dramatic progress on the business side. And indeed, Prime Minister Miyazawa and I have had a real opportunity now to begin once again our discussions of this. But I would say to you, my friend, these are good people, our business people. They are people that not only represent individual American companies, but in a sense we've brought a delegation that is widely connected with chambers of commerce, Federation of Independent Business, the heartbeat of our country in jobs in small business, independent business. And so, the head of the Independent Business Association is here, the National Association of Manufacturing. And in these discussions, your friends and colleagues are talking to our organizations as well as to these business executives and individuals in whom I have so much personal confidence. But we're grateful to you. And I would just like to turn the floor over to you, sir, for any comments that you'd care to make. The Prime Minister. Thank you, Mr. President. If I may, a few words. Secretary Mosbacher, distinguished U.S. business executives, I hope you are having a productive meeting. It must be quite rare, even in the United States, for such an outstanding group of business executives to get together in one room, particularly from such a broad spectrum of industries ranging from potato chips to computer chips. [Laughter] I should be delighted if you take full advantage of this special occasion for the benefit of both economies. President Bush and I are working hard to advance our bilateral relationship including its economic aspect, not only for the sake of our two countries but also for the rest of the world. In so doing, both the President and I have great expectations for the input from the private sectors. Now, 18 people are enough to form 2 baseball teams. I hope you will be throwing balls of imaginative and creative ideas back and forth with the Trade Minister here today, as well as with Japanese business representatives tomorrow morning, so as to further utilize market-access opportunities here in Japan. You are welcome. Thank you very much.”