    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [June 8, 2000]
    [Pages 1109-1110]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Memorial Service for Former Prime Minister Keizo
    Obuchi of Japan in Tokyo
    June 8, 2000

        I would like to begin by thanking Ambassador and Mrs. Foley for welcoming me
    back to the American Embassy and the Ambassador's residence, along with
    our American party.
        I came here today to pay my respects to a friend. And on behalf of
    the American people, I want to extend our deepest condolences to the
    Prime Minister's family, especially to his wife and his three children, as well as to the
    people of Japan.
        Two years ago Prime Minister Obuchi took office in a difficult time
    for Japan and the world. There were many who wondered if any person
    could meet the tremendous challenges brought on by the global economic
    crisis we faced. I think history will record that Keizo Obuchi rose to
    the challenge with courage and confidence.
        Thirty-seven years ago he was the youngest person ever elected to
    the Japanese Parliament. Over time, it's clear that he learned a
    profoundly important lesson, how to reach out to all sides and bring
    people together. As Prime Minister, he became known for imitating the
    art and skill of an orchestra conductor, in finding harmony among people
    of different views.
        From his first days in office, he took swift steps to put Japan on
    firmer economic ground, and he gave strong support to the cause of
    peace, from East Timor to Kosovo. He worked to strengthen our alliance
    and to place it on a solid foundation for the 21st century. He believed
    in a U.S.-Japanese partnership built upon mutual respect and shared
    values of democracy and human rights, economic freedom and security, and
    that this partnership must remain the cornerstone of stability in East
    Asia.
        Prime Minister Obuchi touched hearts around the world in simple,
    human ways. His telephone calls are legendary. I remember his human
    touch when he came to America last spring: when he threw out an
    unhittable pitch to the Chicago slugger, Sammy Sosa; when he told us of
    the honor he felt in meeting Robert Kennedy as a young man; and how much
    he appreciated the dinner we hosted in his honor when he shared a table
    with Mrs. Robert Kennedy.
        Early in his career, Prime Minister Obuchi competed for votes in the
    same district as two former Prime Ministers. He used to describe himself
    as a ``noodle shop sandwiched between two skyscrapers.'' As usual, he
    was being modest. Prime Minister Obuchi represented to the whole world
    the Japanese virtues of honor and loyalty, vision and determination,
    love for and commitment to ordinary people. Our world is a better place
    thanks to the life that he lived and the work that he did.
        On his last day in Washington, Prime Minister Obuchi gave me a
    beautiful painting of Mount Fuji. I will cherish it always. And whenever
    I look at it, it will always remind me of him. I hope very much that, in
    his memory, Japan and the United States can work together as partners
    and friends to lift humanity to a new mountaintop in the 21st century.
        Thank you very much.

    [[Page 1110]]

     Note:  The President spoke at approximately 4:05 p.m. at the U.S.
    Ambassador's residence. In his remarks, he referred to Ambassador Thomas
    S. Foley, and his wife, Heather; Prime Minister Obuchi's widow, Chizuko,
    his son, Go, and his daughters, Yuko and Akiko; and Ethel Kennedy, widow
    of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.