    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [June 11, 1993]
    [Pages 837-838]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing the Nomination of Walter Mondale To Be Ambassador to
    Japan and an Exchange With Reporters
    June 11, 1993

        The President. Good morning. Please be seated. I want to thank all
    of you for coming here today for the announcement of my nomination of
    Walter Mondale to be our next Ambassador to Japan. Former Vice President
    Mondale will succeed Ambassador Michael Armacost, whose service was very
    valuable. And I want to thank him for it and acknowledge that here
    today.
        This nomination has produced a lot of happiness, not only for me and
    for our administration but for the people of the State of Minnesota and
    the people of the United States who have admired Walter Mondale for a
    very long time.
        Fritz Mondale is not only someone I consider a friend but also
    someone that I and millions of Americans consider a leader of enormous
    wisdom, courage, compassion, and stature. Like his mentor, Hubert
    Humphrey, Fritz Mondale is a hero to the people of Minnesota, because he
    embodies the virtues of the Midwest, because he fought so boldly for
    those things in the United States Senate, and because he never lost the
    basic values of his childhood and his adulthood after he became a leader
    on the national and world stage.
        We have a lot in common. We both began our careers as State
    attorneys general in our home States at a relatively young age. And just
    as I am the first President from Hope, I am reliably informed that I can
    assert today that Fritz Mondale is our Nation's first Ambassador to
    Japan from Elmore.
        Fritz Mondale has devoted his entire life to serving our Nation and
    to building bonds of understanding around the world. He has served our
    country in the military, as a State attorney general, as an outstanding
    Senator, and, of course, as Vice President and our party's nominee for
    President. In all these public roles, as well as in the experience he
    has gained in the private sector since, he has earned the right to be
    considered extraordinarily well qualified to assume the task of
    enhancing our relationship with Japan and projecting American leadership
    in Asia and the Pacific region.
        I also want to say a special word of acknowledgment and appreciation
    to Joan Mondale, who is here with us today and who I believe will also
    be an outstanding ambassador for the United States in Japan. [Applause]
    Thank you very much.
        Fritz Mondale is no stranger to Japan and her people. He has
    traveled there often, both in public and private roles. It is moving to
    recall that as Vice President, Fritz Mondale swore in another Ambassador
    to Japan who came from the United States Senate and who also served with
    tremendous distinction, Ambassador Mike Mansfield, and who is here today
    and who, I might add, at his young age, is probably one of the few
    people in this audience today who has already walked 5 or 6 miles.
    [Laughter]
        Senator Mike Mansfield. Six.
        The President. I chose someone of--[laughter]--what did he say? Six,
    he said. [Laughter] We never were able to short him.
        I chose someone of Fritz Mondale's stature to be my Ambassador to
    Japan because there is no more important bilateral relationship in the
    world than that which exists between the United States and Japan. This
    alliance has supported 50 years of peace and stability in Asia and the
    Pacific. And the course of economic, political, and security dynamics in
    the Pacific and throughout Asia will be determined by how well our
    relationship functions. The challenges and changes facing both Japan and
    the United States as we move toward the 21st century require us to take
    a fresh look at our relationships and to take new actions to strengthen
    the foundations of our alliance.
        When Prime Minister Miyazawa and I met here at the White House in
    April, we agreed to forge a new partnership between our nations aimed at
    restoring world economic growth, advancing democratic values, and
    creating the basis for regional peace which can endure well into the
    next century. To fulfill our shared vision

    [[Page 838]]

    of a new Japan-U.S. partnership, we must sustain our security
    commitment, work on global problems, and address forthrightly and
    urgently our often troubled economic relationship. The economic pillar
    of our relationship needs some repair, and I think we all know that. And
    Prime Minister Miyazawa and I agreed to give it our personal attention.
        It is particularly appropriate that this announcement occurs today,
    for today we are beginning negotiations with the Japanese to craft the
    details of an economic framework intended to spur global growth, open
    markets, and deal with trade and investment issues affecting America's
    economy and America's workers. This framework, which the Prime Minister
    and I hope to unveil at our meeting in Tokyo, will get our economic
    problems out of the headlines and onto the negotiating table where we
    can best resolve them.
        I will look to Fritz Mondale, statesman, negotiator, counselor, and
    representative of our people, to make the bonds that already exist
    between our two nations even stronger. Fritz Mondale's skills give me
    great hope and confidence that my goals with Japan can be achieved in a
    way that benefits both of our nations and the prospects for worldwide
    democracy, peace, and global growth.
        I don't think our Nation could ask for a more capable representative
    abroad, and I appreciate the willingness of Fritz Mondale and Joan to
    accept this challenging assignment. I wish them well, and I know that
    the people of America, and I believe the people of Japan, are very happy
    today about this development. Mr. Mondale.

    [At this point, Mr. Mondale expressed his gratitude to the President,
    stated briefly the importance of the relationship with Japan, and
    answered several questions from reporters.]

    Economic Framework

        Q. Mr. President, what are the prospects for having this framework
    ready in time for your meeting in Tokyo next month?
        The President. Well, we're working hard. We started the formal
    negotiations today, and I'm hopeful. If you noticed, I used the word
    hope. I hope it will be ready to announce in Tokyo. And we've done a lot
    of preliminary work on it, and I'm encouraged. But I can't say for sure
    it will be done, because I can't prejudge the outcome of the
    negotiations. I hope it will be, and a lot of work has been done.
        Q. Do you have a Supreme Court Justice today?
        Q. Is that possible, sir?
        The President. Good morning. [Laughter]
        Q. It's a daily question.
        The President. I don't have anything else to say about it.
        Q. [Inaudible]--framework?
        The President. We want to make some real progress on these very
    thorny trade difficulties that have proved to be so resistant to change.
    And you know that the framework of our debate has been pretty well
    explored in the press. But I think we've got a real shot to reach an
    agreement here, and we're going to keep working on it.
        I think the Japanese are very sensitive about the kinds of economic
    pressures that are now on them that are somewhat new and different in
    the last couple of years. And I think both of us recognize that there
    will have to be an evolution in not only our relationship but in the
    whole balance of global trade if we're going to have sustained global
    growth, which is what is in the interest of Japan and the United States.
    We can't really hope to maintain high levels of growth and high levels
    of incomes in our jobs unless we get a much more brisk rate of growth
    throughout the world. And if you look at the whole history of the post-
    World War II era, it indicates that. If you look at where our jobs have
    come from in the United States just in the last 5 or 6 years, that's
    indicated about two-thirds of our new jobs being tied to trade. So it's
    obvious that we have to have a much higher rate of global growth.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.