Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will receive the rare honor of addressing a joint meeting of the United States Congress on Wednesday, as he continues his week-long trip to the U.S.
Prime Minister Abe was the guest of honor Tuesday night at a glamorous state dinner in the White House East Room, which was decorated with pink lighting and cherry blossoms.
President Barack Obama welcomed Abe with a haiku, a traditional Japanese poem. He used sake, a rice-based alcoholic beverage, instead of the traditional champagne for a toast.
“Spring, green and friendship.”
“United States and Japan.”
“Nagoyaka ni, which means ‘harmonious feeling,'” said the president.
In return, Abe raised his own glass of sake and quoted the lyrics to the rhythm and blues song, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
“The song goes, ‘Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, to keep me from you.’ The relationship of Japan and the United States is just like this,” he said.
Abe will become the first Japanese prime minister ever to address a session of both houses of Congress. The address, expected to begin at 11:00 a.m. EST, will be closely watched for any comments about Japan’s wartime past.
Many Chinese and South Koreans say Abe is not sufficiently apologetic towards his country’s past misdeeds, including Japan’s sexual slavery of Asian women during World War II.
Responding Tuesday to a question about Japanese atrocities, Abe stopped short of issuing a direct apology, as have his predecessors in 1995 and 2005.
“I am deeply pained to think about the comfort women who experienced immeasurable pain and suffering as a result of victimization due to human trafficking,” Abe said.
Earlier Tuesday, President Obama welcomed the Japanese leader to the White House in a pomp-filled ceremony.
In his greeting, Obama said, “The United States has renewed our leadership in the Asia Pacific. Prime Minister Abe is leading Japan to a new role on the world stage. The foundation of both efforts is a strong U.S.-Japan alliance.”
Abe described the U.S.-Japanese alliance as “more robust than ever” and said Tokyo would be at “the forefront with the U.S.” in confronting global challenges.
Before their remarks, the two leaders reviewed U.S. troops and then shook hands with many of the hundreds of people gathered for the ceremony.
President Obama and Prime Minister Abe also pledged to complete a 12-nation Pacific rim trade agreement even as the American leader acknowledged there is opposition in both countries.
“I know that the politics around trade can be hard in both our countries,” Obama said at a White House news conference after the two held private talks. “But I know that Prime Minister Abe, like me, is deeply committed to getting this done and I’m confident we will.”
Abe, in the midst of a state visit to the United States, 70 years after the end of the two countries’ bitter World War II conflict, called for the “early conclusion” of negotiations over the trade deal; but, the two leaders did not announce any details about the remaining barriers to completing an agreement that would open up exports for both Japanese and American manufacturers, along with those in 10 other nations.
The Pacific trade deal, and a companion one with European nations, has drawn opposition in the U.S. from labor unions and Democratic lawmakers who normally are allies with Obama, a Democrat. They contend that it will cost many U.S. workers their jobs as corporations move their operations overseas in pursuit of cheaper labor costs. Meanwhile, business-oriented Republicans in Congress who often oppose Obama on a wide range of issues generally support the pending trade agreements.
Obama said the trade bill would boost U.S. exporters and the country’s labor market. “I’m confident we will end up getting the votes in Congress,” he said.
Obama and Abe cited the friendship between the two countries, which the U.S. leader called an “indestructible partnership.”
“Across seven decades our nations have become not just allies but true partners and friends,” he said.
In the hour-long news conference in the sun-splashed White House Rose Garden, the two leaders touched on a variety of world issues. They voiced concern about China’s activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built an air strip and other structures on coral reefs.
Obama said the two countries “are united in our commitment to freedom of navigation, respect for international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes without coercion.”
The two leaders said they are not opposed to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, but Obama said that like other world funding organizations, its lending and other programs must be transparent and in line with good governance.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. and Japan agreed to tighten their defense alliance, a move widely seen as a response to China’s growing power.
The revised guidelines help Japan play a larger part in international conflicts, allowing Tokyo to come to the defense of a third country and strengthening its role in missile defense, mine sweeping and ship inspections.
It is the first time in 18 years the U.S. and Japan have revised their defense guidelines. The move follows Japan’s decision last year to reinterpret its pacifist constitution to allow for collective self-defense.
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