[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 16 (Monday, April 22, 1996)]
[Pages 680-681]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Dinner Hosted by Emperor Akihito in Tokyo, Japan

April 17, 1996

    Your Imperial Majesties, Prime Minister and Mrs. Hashimoto, 
distinguished guests. I want to thank you for your extraordinary 
hospitality to Hillary and to me and to all of our delegation.
    Your Majesties, when we met 2 years ago, you visited our Nation and 
charmed all of America. As you crossed the United States you reminded 
all Americans of the character and dignity that distinguished the 
Japanese people and their rich culture. Tonight you have honored us 
again with your hospitality, much as you honored our Nation with your 
presence. You have received us with the exceptional grace and elegance 
for which Japan is renowned throughout the world.
    More than 1,200 years ago, one of your great poets, Ootomo No 
Yakamochi, wrote of an ``imperial setting wonderful, in its spaciousness 
so superb, so vast. Seeing it, I know why the rulers have dwelt here 
since the age of the gods.'' We, too, have been greeted in a setting 
that is so superb and that speaks of a tradition of graciousness toward 
friends that reaches back to antiquity.
    Let me also thank the Japanese people. The welcome we have received 
in Tokyo, for the second time in my Presidency, speaks eloquently about 
the friendship between our peoples. You have made us all feel very much 
at home.
    In a relationship as vast and complex as ours, one that has been 
analyzed by so many in so many different ways, no number or statistic 
can begin to capture the value of this friendship to both our nations. 
History is filled with changing alliances between states. But history 
offers very few examples of two peoples who have forged such a powerful 
relationship in the short period of half a century. We have indeed 
traveled far together. We have been able to cover such distance because 
we are joined by universal values and seek the same ends: freedom for 
all our citizens, the blessings of peace and prosperity that enables 
Japanese and Americans to make the most of their own lives. Working side 
by side, we have created in modern times a great democratic tradition, 
one of unity and cooperation in the service of our people's highest 
aspirations.
    In only these five decades, we have reaped enormous benefits, 
building the two largest economies in the world and creating a 
tremendous force for security and stability during an era of constant 
change and frequent upheaval. Today, we carried forward that tradition. 
We revitalized the alliance that has provided such crucial stability in 
Asia. We continue the hard work on economic issues that will open 
opportunities for the future, and we've moved ahead with our common 
efforts to address the new problems we face around the world.
    We have achieved much. For the new century that lies before us, if 
we maintain our resolve, we can accomplish much more.
    Ladies and gentlemen, let us raise a glass to the health of the 
Majesties and the friendship between the peoples of the United States 
and Japan, which has become such an extraordinary force for progress and 
hope at the dawn of this new age of possibility.

Note: The President spoke at 9:30 p.m. in the Imperial Palace. In his 
remarks, he referred to Empress Michiko and Kumiko Hashimoto, wife of 
Prime Minister Hashimoto. A tape was not available for verification of 
the content of these remarks.

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