Japan-United States of America Relations

On Friday, January 6, commencing at 9:40 a.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Prime Minister  Shinzo Abe held a telephone conference with the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Vice President of the United States of America. The overview of the talk is as follows.

1. Prime Minister Abe stated that thanks to Vice President Biden's strong support over the last four years, the Japan-U.S. Alliance has deepened its cooperation in a broad range of fields including  economy, security and people-to-people exchanges. Japan and the United States, which fought as enemies in the past, now form an "alliance of hope," that is stronger than ever before. Prime Minister Abe stated that he could demonstrate the value of Japan-U.S. reconciliation to the world from Hiroshima in May and from Pearl Harbor in December 2016 together with the Honorable Barack H. Obama, President of the United States. Prime Minister Abe stated that he will never forget that behind the deepening and development of the Japan-U.S. Alliance is the presence of such a strong supporter as Vice President Biden, and stated that he wants to thank him. 
2. In response, Vice President Biden stated that thanks to Prime Minister Abe's leadership and courage, the Japan-U.S. Alliance has become stronger than ever before, and stated that Prime Minister Abe's statement at Pearl Harbor in last December demonstrated what reconciliation is. Vice President Biden said that Prime Minister Abe is offering the leadership that the region requires, and he stated he wants to thank Prime Minister Abe for his leadership.
3. In addition, Vice President Biden stated that the Government of the United States supports the Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) agreement concerning the comfort women issue and strongly hopes that the agreement will be steadily fulfilled by both sides. Prime Minister Abe stated that it will remain important for both the Governments of Japan and the ROK to implement the agreement with responsibility, and  it would not be constructive to challenge it.