[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Pages 1313-1314]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Memorial Service for Keizo Obuchi 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 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.

 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. A tape was not available for verification 
of the content of these remarks.

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