Appendix
1. Speeches by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister at the National Diet
(1) Policy Speech by Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu to the 119th Session of the National Diet
(October 12, 1990)
At the opening of this 119th Session of the National Diet, I would like to state my views on some of the major issues before us and to ask for your understanding and cooperation on them.
(Foreign Policy Efforts for World Peace and Prosperity)
The world today is at a historical turning point, and the quest for a new world order proceeds in earnest. It is today possible to hope for the gradual realization of a structure of world peace through cooperation and dialogue and founded upon the principles of freedom, democracy, and market economics. The two Germanies were unified on the third of this month, and this was both a major achievement symbolic of this historical trend and an accomplishment deserving our sincere congratulations and respect.
However, as if rising up to shatter our hopes for a new world order, Iraq invaded and unilaterally annexed Kuwait this August. International legal norms absolutely forbidding the military invasion and annexation of another country are among the most fundamental principles if all the peoples of the world are to enjoy the right to live in peace. Coming as it does at a time when the structure of the East-West conflict is undergoing major changes, Cold War approaches are being transcended, and moves have begun to seek a new historic order for peaceful co-existence worldwide, this Iraqi action comes as a frontal assault on the world's hopes and cannot be allowed to stand as a fait accompli. The United Nations has acted promptly and appropriately in response to this situation, as shown in the various resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, and the international community is agreed on the need to respond as one in rejecting this illegal action by Iraq. I fully support such international efforts centered on the United Nations and very much hope that peace - meaning not simply the absence of war but the attainment of a just peace - will be achieved in the Gulf region as soon as possible in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
This crisis is a major time of testing for Japan as a nation of peace and the most severe trial we have faced since the end of the war. Realizing that Japan is a key member of the international community and seeking to defend international justice, this administration moved promptly even before adoption of the United Nations resolution to impose comprehensive economic sanctions on Iraq. In addition, seeking to support the international efforts for the restoration of peace and stability in the Gulf region in light of its vital importance to the non-oil producing developing countries and the rest of the international community and its importance to Japan as a major source of oil, we have pledged a total of up to $2 billion in transport, material, medical, and financial cooperation with these efforts and have also pledged another $2 billion or so in economic assistance to such front-line countries as Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan whose economies have been especially hard-hit by this situation. This administration is also acting to provide material assistance, a medical survey team, repatriation transportation help, and other relief for the evacuees in Jordan and elsewhere.
In my recent visit to five countries in the Middle East, I explained Japanese thinking and contributions to the leaders there and found that these were appreciated. The leaders of the five countries that I visited expressed concern about the disaster that could result if the present crisis they face is prolonged, and they emphasized the importance of the entire international community's banding together to further ensure the implementation of the United Nations resolutions for a peaceful settlement. While I was in the Middle East, I also had the opportunity to talk with Iraqi First Deputy Prime Minister Ramadan, during which I explained our basic position, emphasizing that we are most concerned about the Gulf Crisis, that Iraq should withdraw from Kuwait and restore the legitimate government of Kuwait to power in accordance with United Nations resolutions, and that it is imperative that all foreign nationals be released and allowed to leave Iraq without restriction. At the same time, I argued that the situation should be peacefully resolved and that an Iraqi decision to withdraw from Kuwait is needed to provide the impetus for a breakthrough in the present deadlocked situation. I intend to continue Japan's tenacious diplomatic efforts and to avoid closing the channels of political dialogue for a solution.
Iraq's restricting the freedom of foreign nationals and holding them hostage is both illegal under international law and unpardonable for humanitarian considerations. I assure you I am determined to continue to do everything possible in cooperation with the United Nations and other international bodies as well as with other countries to win the prompt release of all foreign nationals, with special attention to securing the earliest possible release of those Japanese who are barred from leaving Iraq.
I would also like to make it clear that Japan is prepared to rebuild its relations with Iraq once Iraq has promptly and fully observed the United Nations resolutions and true peace has been restored to the Gulf region.
The peace that the United Nations seeks is a just peace, and a nation of peace should be a nation prepared to accept the responsibilities of preserving peace as a member of the international community. Desiring peace, Japan should not simply sit back and watch international efforts to restore peace in the wake of a situation such as the present one that threatens to have a grave impact on world peace but should look seriously at what Japan can do and should then move to do it. In the forty-five years since the end of the war, Japan has repeatedly declared its determination not to become a military power such as might once again threaten other countries, has renounced war as a sovereign right of the nation, and has rejected the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. There is a broad national consensus in support of these ideals, and I am confident that this Japanese stance has contributed significantly to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus it is only right that Japan should seek to undertake responsibilities for preserving the peace by means that are compatible with these ideals and this stance.
I believe that international efforts centering on the United Nations will become increasingly important, not just in this Gulf Crisis but in other situations in the future. It is crucial that Japan be able to cooperate effectively with such efforts both in personal terms and in material terms. The issue is whether or not Japan will be able, rather than sitting idle just because there is no direct threat to Japanese territory, to respond as a key member of the international community in the post-Cold War international order to threats to international peace and justice such as the invasion and annexation of a small country by a big country. Or will we simply have to accept this outrage, in which case there is no hope for the new international order. This administration is drafting a United Nations Peace Cooperation Law and seeking deliberation on it in the belief that it is important to put the legal framework for such a response in place as quickly as possible. The United Nations Peace Cooperation Corps provided for in this Law is to be created with the cooperation and participation of people from all walks of life, including Self-Defense Forces and other civil service personnel, and, not involving the threat or use of force, is fully compatible with the Constitution. I am confident that the creation of this United Nations Peace Cooperation Corps will further that lofty Constitutional ideal of establishing peace for all time controlling human relationships to which the Japanese people are devoted. As such, I ask for the understanding and support of all of the people in its creation.
I believe that the massive export of weapons to Iraq was undeniably a factor in the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. As a country that has long exercised strict controls over arms exports, Japan intends to call the international community's attention to the need to maintain, enhance, and expand globally the non-proliferation regimes for nuclear, chemical, biological, and other means of mass destruction as well as for missiles and other delivery systems. We would also like to draw attention to the need for appropriate restraints on conventional arms exports and greater transparency and openness in this area.
In the wake of the dramatic changes in Europe, favorable developments have also begun to emerge in the Asia-Pacific region, including the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Republic of Korea. Within this climate, it is all the more important for Japan that efforts be made to further ease the tensions in the region and to ensure regional peace and stability.
Looking at Japanese-Soviet relations, it is important to create brighter prospects for dramatic developments in the mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries through resolving the Northern Territories issue, concluding the peace treaty, and thus establishing truly stable relations. In talks with Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze last month, we confirmed that we share the recognition that President Gorbachev's visit to Japan scheduled for next April should provide the impetus for a fundamental improvement in Japanese-Soviet relations. I intend to point out to President Gorbachev that now more than ever it is important to act with courage and decisiveness to effect the earliest possible normalization of our bilateral relationship.
I intend to continue the effort to strengthen our stable relationship with China. Strongly hoping for renewed Chinese efforts to not retreat into international isolation but rather to promote its policies of reform and openness in deed as well as in word, Japan will move to gradually implement the Third Yen Loan and otherwise to support such Chinese policies.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula is changing radically, including the holding of the first North-South Prime Ministerial Meeting. Maintaining and developing relations of friendship and cooperation with the Republic of Korea is the basis of Japanese policy toward this area, and I believe that President Roh's recent visit to Japan was a great success for the building of a new era in Japanese-R.O.K. relations. With respect to our relations with North Korea, I very much welcome the fact that the recent visit to North Korea by a joint delegation from the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Socialist Party has resulted in the return yesterday of the two crewmen and hence the solution of the pending Dai-18 Fujisan-Maru problem. At the same time, this has opened the way for dialogue between the two sides aiming at the normalization of relations. Staying in close contact with the Republic of Korea, the United States, and other countries concerned, Japan intends to move forward in these talks with North Korea with a view to ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. With the situation on the Korean Peninsula entering a new phase, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere apologies and profound regrets once again to all of the people of the region that there was a period during which Japanese actions inflicted unbearable suffering and sorrows.
Japan has taken a number of initiatives on the situation in Cambodia, the main cause of instability in Southeast Asia, including the hosting of the Tokyo Meeting, and we both welcome the recent moves for peace and intend to make an active contribution for a comprehensive solution.
Firm relations of cooperation with the United States are also essential in deploying our foreign policy initiatives to build the new international order. In my most recent talks with President Bush, we have mutually affirmed our shared responsibilities in dealing with the Iraqi problem and the broader issues of world peace and prosperity and the need for us to cooperate in their fulfillment, and I intend to continue to further strengthen this global partnership between Japan and the United States.
Although there was a difficult period between Japan and the United States, the two countries have made a determined effort in the Structural Impediments Initiative talks and we were able to draw up successful final reports. These talks were very significant in allowing Japan and the United States to frankly discuss those issues that they felt they needed to point out as friends, including a number that had previously been left undiscussed as internal issues, and to further strengthen the mutual understanding and other bonds between the two countries. Although new friction and issues may arise by virtue of our very closeness as the mutual interdependence between us grows even stronger, I am confident that it will be possible for our two countries to further develop relations of true friendship if we make a conscious effort not only at the governmental but also at the popular level to enhance mutual understanding and to avoid misunderstandings. Thus it is that I have proposed such efforts under what I have dubbed the Japanese-American Communication Improvement Initiative. I intend to work on fleshing out this Initiative as one of the most important issues in Japanese-American relations.
The cornerstone of these Japanese-American relations is the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security signed thirty years ago. Japan intends to firmly maintain these security arrangements and to ensure their smooth and effective operation, as well as to continue to work to improve its modest defense capability without becoming a threat to other nations.
At the end of this year, the GATT Uruguay Round will face its final deadline. The maintenance and strengthening of the multilateral free trade system is an essential prerequisite to the sound development of the world economy, and this administration intends to make every effort for the successful conclusion of these negotiations. With regard to rice, in view of the special importance of rice and rice-farming and in line with the spirit of the relevant Diet resolutions, I intend to deal with this with our basic policy of self-sufficiency from domestic production.
(Resolving the Land Problem)
The rapid increase in land prices is a barrier to the stability and betterment of Japanese housing, and it widens the asset disparity between the haves and the have-nots. I feel that the land policy is the most important issue facing this administration, and I am determined to deal with it head-on from the perspective of building a fair society. We must implement specific policies in the realization that the prime imperative is to dispel the myth that he who owns land will inevitably prosper and that it is imperative that land not be an instrument of speculation.
In accordance with the principles of the Basic Land Act, this administration is already promoting policies in line with the Priority List of Land Policies drawn up late last year, and earnest deliberations are now underway in the Land Policy Council on the future direction of land policies and in the Tax Commission on an overall review of land taxes, and I hope to receive their recommendations before long. Building upon their views, this administration intends to draw up the necessary legislation for reforming land taxes, to submit it to the next Regular Session of the National Diet, and otherwise to move ahead promptly and forcefully with comprehensive land policies.
(Promoting Price and Energy Policies)
Prices are a critical factor determining whether or not the people feel affluent in their everyday lives. Happily, Japanese prices have remained relatively stable as the economy has continued to expand, but there are a number of causes for concern, including the higher oil prices sparked by the situation in the Middle East and the tighter labor market, and it is thus essential that we continue to pay all due heed to maintaining price stability, including closely monitoring the situation and exercising every vigilance against unwarranted price hikes. We will also continue to work for the reduction and rectification of the differential between Japanese and overseas prices.
In this vein, the instability in the Middle East is having an impact on Japan, which depends upon this region for over 70% of its oil imports, and the administration is making a vigorous effort to ensure stable energy supplies by securing petroleum sources and promoting the development and use of nuclear power and other alternative energy sources, as well as by further encouraging energy and resource conservation. I would thus like to appeal to both industry and the people at large to be especially conservation-minded as we approach the peak-demand winter season, knowing that, for example, turning the thermostat down just one degree can save the equivalent of 2.5 days' worth of oil.
(Promoting Tax Reform and Fiscal and Administrative Reform)
As you know, the consumption tax and other tax issues are now being discussed in the Diet's Joint Committee on Taxes, etc., and I am hopeful that, recognizing the need for the consumption tax, all parties will conduct these discussions from a transcending perspective and a decision will be reached soon.
Japan's fiscal situation continues to be grim, and we still have a staggering \164 trillion in national debt outstanding. If our finances are to be able to respond flexibly to changes as they occur, it is imperative that we work in line with the determination not to issue deficit-financing bonds again and seek to reduce the dependence on debt financing and otherwise to create a structure in which there is no ballooning of national debt outstanding.
As well as promoting administrative and fiscal reforms at both the national and local levels in full observance of the recommendations of the Provisional Council for the Promotion of Administrative Reform, I intend to impanel a new council on administrative reform and to continue making an intense effort in this area.
(Political Reform Marking the Diet's Centennial)
The Diet will celebrate its centennial on November 29, 1990, and I join with you in celebrating this milestone.
The international reaffirmation of democratic values and the moves toward democracy by countries that had previously adopted other systems imparts a vivid sense of historical movement as we approach the close of the 20th century. At the recent Houston Summit too, it was stated that the final ten years of this century will be a decade of democracy. It is particularly important at this juncture that we look anew at our democratic principles and establish a system of political ethics so as to ensure popular trust in politics. At the same time, I believe it is essential that we institute systems downgrading the importance of money in electoral politics, refocusing elections on policy issues, and elevating the role of parties. As we mark the centennial of the Diet's establishment, the administration believes that it has a solemn historic mission to seek fundamental reforms in the electoral system and the system of political finance underlying our democratic structures in line with the recommendations recently received from the Election System Council, and fully respecting the spirit of the recommendations and finalizing proposals as soon as possible, we are determined to move forth unwaveringly. Although these reforms may entail some sacrifice for us as politicians, I appeal to all parties to think of our future as a nation and to understand and cooperate with these reforms so that democracy can thrive and grow stronger in Japan.
The Ceremonies of the Accession to the Throne and the Daijosai will be held next month marking the accession of the new Emperor. Every preparation is going forth on the Ceremonies of the Accession to the Throne so that they can be held with all due dignity and the necessary arrangements are being made so that the Daijosai can be conducted in all solemnity, and I am resolved to see them carried out smoothly.
(Conclusion)
Today I feel the truth of the saying that the world is getting smaller and smaller. There are active cross-border exchanges in the economic, cultural, informational, and all other fields, and the ideological antagonisms that divided the world and characterized much of the 20th century are awakening. All of the peoples of the world are starting to move in the same direction in their quest for peace and affluence. We are finally moving into an era when it will be possible to say that the world is truly one.
Within this context, Japan is a much more important world presence than most of us realize. In my talks with world leaders during my January visit to Europe, my May trip through South Asia, and my most recent tour of the Middle East, I was impressed with the great expectations that the world holds of Japan. Japan is today a leading member of the international community, and it is imperative that we act as a truly international state befitting that status.
The Japanese Constitution is a proud declaration of our determination to preserve our security and existence trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world. Yet these bonds of trust with other nations cannot be forged if Japan simply stands idle. Rather, I believe that it is the effort to identify what we can do in the cause of building a new world order of peace and prosperity in keeping with our Constitutional ideals and then moving to institute specific policies in line with this that will enable Japan to occupy an honored place in the international society. We must never forget that Japan has been one of the prime beneficiaries of the world without war, and it is only when the world is at peace that a resource-poor trading nation such as Japan can enjoy the benefits of prosperity. It must be said that contributing to maintain world peace is both a natural and inevitable cost arising from Japan's position within the international community.
I attended the World Summit for Children last month and held wide-ranging discussions with other world leaders on what our generation can and should do for the children of the world in the face of the appalling fact that 40,000 children perish worldwide each and every day. Within this, I especially emphasized that, this year also being International Literacy Year, we must make a major effort to enhance basic education and raise literacy rates for the over 100 million children around the world who have not received even an elementary education and are illiterate. Children are not simply people who will lead future generations, they are also precious treasures reminding us anew of insights and values that we are in risk of forgetting. Surely, we owe it to our children to join together in creating a world of peace and prosperity, a world in which they can have hope for the future, and international structures in which it can truly be said that the world is one.
I appeal for your understanding and cooperation in this grand endeavor.
(2) Policy Speech by Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu to the 120th Session of the National Diet
(January 25, 1991)
I would like, at the resumption of this 120th Session of the National Diet, to outline the situation in Japan and worldwide, to explain my policies, and to ask for your understanding and cooperation.
Foreign Policy
The world has now started the final decade of this century and is poised to enter the 21st century. Looking back, the 20th century has experienced two tragic world wars and had been dominated until recently by an East-West Cold War structure centering on the confrontation between the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union.
Having overcome innumerable trials, however, mankind is now on the threshold of a new era in history and on the way to brighter future. The world in general and the American-Soviet relationship in particular are moving steadily from confrontation to a new era of dialogue and cooperation. Europe, which was a central theater of the Cold War, has, with the success of East European democratization and German unification and the adoption of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, put an end to the era of division and confrontation.
It was at this historic time that Iraq invaded Kuwait in a brutal display of belligerence. Responding to this illegal domination by force, the international community moved from the very first to build an unprecedented relationship of cooperation under the authority of the United Nations as seen in the adoption of a series of Security Council resolutions and the operation of multilateral forces as well as the international sharing of the costs involved. The entire international community, Japan included, had made every effort to achieve a peaceful resolution to this situation by the January 15 deadline set by the United Nations.
Most regrettably, however, President Hussein of Iraq has ignored these efforts and trod roughshod over the efforts made by the international community for a peaceful resolution. This is an intolerable situation both in itself and in terms of the future preservation of the world order centered on the United Nations. That is why there are over twenty countries of different philosophical and religious creeds taking part in the multilateral operation and why a large number of countries are providing material and financial support for these efforts. Having come to occupy a leading place in the international community, Japan has a natural duty to make a positive contribution to this effort, and refusal to fulfill this obligation and failure to do what we can would mean choosing the road to international isolation for Japan. This is surely something that we would want to avoid.
Realizing this, Japan announces its firm support for the use of force by the United States and the other nations concerned as a last resort consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 678. I am also determined to extend all possible cooperation within our Constitutional constraints to this effort to restore international peace and stability, and we have thus decided to make an additional contribution in the amount of $9 billion, above and beyond the contributions that we have already announced, to help defray the expenses currently being incurred by the countries concerned. I believe this much is absolutely imperative for Japan to fulfill its international role and to uphold the just principle that the aggressor must never be condoned in the international community. I know that this will mean a considerable burden on the Japanese people, but I would like to seek your understanding and cooperation. In addition, Japan also intends to cooperate with the international organizations concerned and to render all possible assistance in evacuee relief, and we have undertaken to meet the total expenses that the United Nations organizations concerned with evacuee relief have appealed to the international community for. In the humanitarian and non-military field of evacuee repatriation, I have appealed strongly to Japanese commercial airlines for their cooperation and have gained their assent in these very difficult circumstances on the condition that their safety is guaranteed. They are already prepared to leave quickly if there are specific requests from the pertinent international organizations. I have also decided to use the Self-Defense Forces transport capability when commercial aircrafts are not available and when such emergency imperative arises from a humanitarian perspective. I am confident that it is entirely consistent with the Constitution for Japan to take the initiative in undertaking such humanitarian and non-military responsibilities in the international community.
Japan has strongly called upon Iraq to respect the concerted will of the international community and to comply with all pertinent Security Council resolutions. We strongly hope that the war in the Gulf region will be ended as soon as possible and that an enduring and just peace will be achieved in the Middle East at the earliest possible time.
If we are to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future, it is essential that the United Nations' authority and functioning for world peace and security be enhanced and that all countries cooperate actively with this effort. With the debate on the United Nations Peace Cooperation Bill submitted to the recent Extraordinary Session of the Diet and the ensuing discussions among the people, I am confident that there has emerged a shared popular recognition that Japan needs to contribute to the cause of peace not only in financial and material terms but also in personnel terms. Respecting the agreement among the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic Socialist parties, I hope to get a proposal as soon as possible on new modes of international cooperation.
At the same time, this situation has made me keenly aware of the fact that future stability in the Gulf region and all the world requires halting the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and missile technology and, in the trade in conventional arms, exercising the appropriate controls to gain greater transparency and openness. We are also making efforts to strengthen international cooperation in this field, including the prompt conclusion of the negotiations on the convention banning chemical weapons.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the important issues are those of promoting the relaxation of tensions and working for the region's further economic development. We must play a positive role in the resolution of the conflicts and disputes remaining in this region and in bringing peace and prosperity to the region as a whole.
Along with seeking to expand dialogue and cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other regional cooperative forums, it is important to resolve such destabilizing situations as those on the Korean Peninsula and in Cambodia and to work for a fundamental improvement in Japan-Soviet relations so as to secure long-term stability and prosperity for the Asia-Pacific region.
New developments are evident on the Korean Peninsula for the relaxation of tensions there, including the holding of the prime ministerial meetings between South and North and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Soviet Union, and Japan must make an active effort to further accelerate this movement. Strengthening the relationship of cooperation and friendship between Japan and the Republic of Korea is basic to Japan's policy toward the Korean Peninsula. My recent visit to the Republic of Korea was successful in that the two leaders settled the issue of the legal status of third-generation Koreans in Japan and affirmed the three principles for the new era in Japan-ROK relations, and it is therefore important that we work to flesh out the future-oriented cooperative relationship for the 21st century. In our relations with North Korea, the negotiations on normalizing diplomatic relations will start soon and Japan intends to hold these negotiations in close contact with the Republic of Korea, the United States, and other countries concerned in such a way as contributes to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula with due consideration for the entire situation which affects the Peninsula.
On the Cambodian problem, it was agreed in December 1990 with the efforts of the countries concerned to convene the Paris International Conference on Cambodia soon. Japan has long made strong efforts for Cambodian peace and, along with continuing to work vigorously on the problems remaining among the Cambodian factions, calls upon all of the countries concerned to cooperate closely with reconstruction in Cambodia and all of Indochina once peace has been restored.
In the Soviet Union, perestroika is at a crucial juncture that will try its worth. Believing as I do that it is essential for world peace and stability that President Gorbachev promote perestroika in correct directions for the building of a people-centered democratic society, I have had a high regard for and supported perestroika. However, I cannot but express my grave concern over the fact that force was used not once but repeatedly in the Baltic states. We have strongly requested that the situation not deteriorate further and that the issues be solved democratically and peacefully.
It is in this context that President Gorbachev is scheduled to visit Japan this April and that Japan-Soviet relations are entering their most important period since the end of the war. If we are to achieve a fundamental improvement in Japan-Soviet relations, the first imperative is that of resolving the Northern Territories issue and signing the peace treaty. The Japanese people do not want the unprincipled separation of politics and economics that shelving the Northern Territories issue and concentrating solely on the economic relationship would imply. I intend to call upon President Gorbachev to make the maximum effort so that his visit to Japan can be of historic significance as the breakthrough for the building of a new Japan-Soviet relationship. I will, of course, spare no effort to that end. Courageous resolve will be needed to put a true end to "the postwar period" between Japan and the Soviet Union.
In our relations with China, I believe it is important that China maintain and develop its relations with the international community. Hoping that China will promote its reform and openness policies in both word and deed and will play a more positive role in the international community, Japan places great value on its relation with China and intends to extend every possible cooperation for China's modernization.
Relations with the United States are the cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy. Firm relations of cooperation with the United States are also important in initiating positive foreign policies for peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and for the construction of a new international order in the world. With the development of close interdependence, there may well be increasing need for Japan and the United States to cooperate with each other to solve the difficult issues between them. Yet along with pressing forward with joint bilateral efforts such as the follow-up activities to the Structural Impediments Initiative, it is imperative that the two countries, as allies, be aware of their shared responsibilities for world peace and prosperity and further strengthen their global partnership of cooperation on global issues. It was in the hope of strengthening exchanges and improving communication between our two peoples that we recently established the Global Partnership Fund. I intend to take the opportunity of President Bush's visit to Japan to put the Japan-U.S. cooperative relationship on an even firmer basis for the 21st century.
The security arrangements with the United States as firm bonds underlying this Japan-U.S. relationship provide an indispensable framework for peace and stability in all of the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan. Along with firmly maintaining the Japan-U.S. security arrangements and working to enhance their credibility, the government, while determined under Japan's peace Constitution to maintain an exclusively defensive posture, not to become a military power such as might threaten other countries, to ensure civilian control, and to observe the three non-nuclear principles, intends to continue to work on improving our effective and moderate defense capability in line with the Mid-term Defense Program drawn up recently to go into effect in fiscal 1991. Given that completion of the present Mid-term Defense Program will have largely enabled Japan to attain the levels set forth in the National Defense Program Outline, this new Mid-term Defense Program focuses on replacing and modernizing equipment and is based upon further enhancement of support capabilities, including the living environment for personnel and improved intelligence, command, and communication capabilities. On the issue of financial support for the costs of stationing U.S. force in Japan, the new Mid-term Defense Program includes provision for new measures in support of U.S. forces stationed in Japan with a view to promoting the effective operation of the Japan-U.S. security arrangements.
The nations of Europe, having as they do the same values of freedom, democracy, and market economic principles and the same social systems as Japan and the United States, are making an ambitious effort centering on the EC to structure a new order. Japan intends to work to strengthen its relations of friendship and cooperation with the European states through, for example, closer ties in the political, economic, and cultural spheres and cooperation with the economic rebuilding of Eastern Europe.
Despite the increasing globalization in the international economic sphere, protectionist pressures are still strong-rooted and there is an urgent need to preserve and strengthen the multilateral free trade regime. Although the December 1990 Ministerial Meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee in Brussels was unable to conclude the Uruguay Round and the consultations had to be held over, these negotiations are very important to building the framework for economic prosperity as we move into the 21st century and failure to reach an agreement could well have serious ramification for the world economy, including a rapid rise in protectionism, having been one of the major beneficiaries of the free multilateral trading system and one of the standard-bearers of the international economic order, Japan is determined to continue to make every effort to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion.
If Japan is to achieve an honored place in the international community and to win the respect and trust of other nations, it is essential that we take the lead in solving the global environmental problems, the drug problem, and other global issues that all mankind devoutly wants to see solved. Japan should also extend positive assistance to the Asian, African, and Latin American developing countries, which are suffering from serious economic and social difficulties including external debts, and to the countries of Eastern Europe, which are making the difficult transition to market economies, thereby being determined to contribute to internationally balanced socio-economic development.
Economic Policy Management
The Japanese economy has now enjoyed over four years of domestic-demand-led growth. It must be noted, however, that a number of factors have recently emerged to cloud the outlook, including the instability in oil prices as a result of the Gulf crisis and the drift toward recession in the United States.
Continuing to work for price stability and seeking flexible and appropriate economic policy management with all due consideration to cooperation with the other leading countries' economic policies, the government will seek, through self-sustaining economic development, employment stability, import expansion and other policies reducing the external imbalance, and stabilize exchange rates, to prolong the domestic-demand-centered growth as much as possible. Efforts will also be made through this economic policy management to structure the Japanese economy for greater international harmony.
Japanese prices have, fortunately, been steady, but it is important that, along with paying careful attention to oil prices, exchange rates, the labor market, and other trends, we give every consideration to maintaining that stability, including strict monitoring of possible price gouging. We will also continue to make an effort to reduce the disparity between Japanese and overseas prices.
Given that Japan depends upon the Middle East for over 70% of its oil, the government has made every possible effort to minimize the impact of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Japanese standards of living and business activity. Fortunately, Japan is now much less dependent upon oil than it was at the time of the two earlier oil crises, and through drawing upon Japan's 142 days' worth of oil stockpiles in cooperation with the rest of the international community, it is our judgment that it should be possible to avoid any major impact on domestic oil markets and Japanese living standards for the time being. Yet, concerned about the continuing vulnerability of Japan's energy structure, we intend, along with promoting the greater use of nuclear power and other alternative energies and making every effort to conserve energy and other resources, to make every effort to secure stable supplies of oil. I would like here to appeal to all of the people for redoubled efforts in energy conservation.
It is extremely important that we stabilize employment and develop the kind of creative and vital small businesses that are able to cope with turbulent changes in the business climate. Accordingly, along with enhancing and strengthening small business policies intended to enable small business to attract and retain workers despite the growing sense of labor shortages, we will also work to improve the balance between labor supply and labor demand, including creating greater employment opportunities for the elderly and the disabled, training in vocational skill development, and regional employment policies.
At the same time, along with dealing strictly and severely with violations of the Anti-monopoly Act to deter violators and thus to preserve and promote fair and free competition among companies, we will implement policies for heightened transparency in the way the Anti-monopoly Act is enforced.
Administrative and Fiscal Reform and Tax Reform
Efforts have been made in the draft budget for fiscal 1991 to issue as few national government bonds as possible and to take first new steps toward sound fiscal policy by, for example, thoroughly reviewing expenditures.
Nonetheless, the total value of national bond issues outstanding is likely to be \168 trillion by the end of fiscal 1991 and Japan continues to be in severe fiscal straits. If we are to maintain our economic and social vitality as the population ages and are to meet our growing responsibilities to the international community, it is important that we create a fiscal structure in which the value of national bond issue outstanding stops growing. Accordingly, we intend, in line with the basic policy of not again issuing deficit-financing government bonds, to make continuing efforts to reduce the dependence on bond issues.
Along with respecting the final report of the Provisional Council for the Promotion of Administrative Reform to the utmost and working to promote fiscal and administrative reform at both the national and the local levels, we will continue to make a determined effort in this area, including asking the recently impaneled new Council to deliberate on new reform policies such as those focusing on living standards and those for adjusting to Japan's internationalization.
We also hope that local government finances will be smoothly managed.
On the Consumption Tax and other taxes, I hope that a constructive agreement can be reached in the Diet's Joint Committee consistent with the need for the Consumption Tax, and I am hoping to produce specific modes as soon as possible to further promote Japan's international cooperation.
Solving the Land and Housing Problem
Any fundamental solution to the land problem must entail demolishing the myth of ever-higher land prices and seeing to it that land prices do not again skyrocket. There are signs that the price monitoring, financing restraints, and other policies implemented thus far are succeeding, including the fact that land prices in the Tokyo, Osaka, and other areas where the problems had been worst are now starting to exhibit greater calm. Seeking to score even greater successes, the government is continuing to designate this as one of its top-priority domestic policy issues and will work to implement effective policies and to institute comprehensive and structure land policies on both the supply and demand side in line with the recently adopted Comprehensive Land Policy Promotion Outline and the ideals of the Basic Land Act. Tax systems are also being reviewed as they apply to land holding, sale, and acquisition, including the adoption of a new Land Value Tax, and we intend to submit the necessary legislation to this Session of the Diet.
In all of this, the goal will be to achieve land price levels where it is possible for a median-range worker to buy a reasonable home at a reasonable price. In addition, the Sixth Housing Construction Five-year Program will be drawn up in a systematic effort to generate quality housing stock and a good living environment so that the people can feel truly well off.
Balanced National Development
Rectifying the excessive concentration in Tokyo and working for balanced and multipolar national development are also important tasks contributing to resolving the land and housing problem and achieving higher standards of living.
Along with promoting the dispersion of urban and industrial functions to outlying areas, including the relocation of government administrative offices, the government is thus working to promote the formation of nationwide networks by, for example, enhancing the mass-transport infrastructure with the systematic construction of the new shinkansen lines, making maglev technology practical, and other means, making integrated improvements in the nationwide road network, and creating sophisticated information and telecommunications networks closely integrated to daily life.
Building upon the momentum sparked by furusato-creation policies to encourage people in the local communities to exercise creative initiatives for community development, we will seek to revitalize local communities and to promote the creation of places that local residents can be proud of. Along with working to create a strong support structure and to enhance the pertinent policies, I propose that each region work to develop its own capabilities drawing upon its own character and capabilities. I will also continue to make vigorous efforts for Hokkaido's comprehensive development and Okinawa's promotion and development. In addition, I will work for disaster prevention and relief policies and for land conservation consistent with the situation in each area.
On the issue of relocating urban functions, the government has established a blue-ribbon panel to look into this in a manner consistent with the recent Diet resolution, and we intend to study this paying constant attention to the popular debate nationwide.
Improving the Living Environment
Creating a comfortable global habitat demands holding the demands that industry and other activities impose on the earth's resources to a minimum and reconciling the dual priorities of environmental conservation and stable economic development. Along with promoting resource conservation and energy conservation on a global scale, it is thus imperative that we husband our key resources carefully and create what might be called a recycle-minded society through, for example, strengthening and enhancing waste disposal policies. This means fundamentally reviewing current waste disposal systems and promoting less waste generation and greater recycling and other means to ensure more effective use of resources at the production, distribution, and consumption stages. Likewise, just as Japan should play a leading role in creating an international framework for dealing with global environmental issues, we will also work in a comprehensive manner to steadfastly implement the Action Program to Arrest Global Warming, flesh out the New Earth 21 concept, and provide greater financial and technological assistance to the developing countries. In all these activities, the goal is to transform our society into an environmentally sound and earth-friendly society.
It is essential that sewer systems, sanitation and environmental hygiene, parks, and other social overhead capital be systematically improved so as to build a society in which people can feel truly affluent. Having drawn up its Basic Plan for Public Investment last June, the government has set forth the basic policy framework for public works investment over the next decade and will now work for social overhead capital improvement with the emphasis on enhancing the quality of Japanese life and creating a comfortable and caring society in line with this Plan.
Along with reviewing and reforming the Large-scale Retail Store Law and moving to streamline and clarify the coordination procedures for opening new stores and to make other changes so that the distribution sector is able to provide quality goods and services meeting today's more diverse and more sophisticated consumer demand at low prices, we will also implement comprehensive policies to promote the creation of attractive shopping districts and commercial centers integrated into consumer lifestyles and to facilitate the development of new retail industries and distribution structures.
Promoting Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
In addition to their crucial mission in providing those foodstuffs that are vital to Japanese life, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries are also indispensable to the development of the Japanese economy and the stability of Japanese life in that, for example, they sustain the vitality of local communities and contribute to land and nature conservation. At the same time, farming, foresting, and fishing villages also play important and multifaceted functions in sustaining richly distinctive community traditions and providing opportunities for people to rediscover the joy of living.
In promoting agriculture, forestry and fisheries policy, I intend, by improving the production infrastructure, developing and diffusing advanced technology, fostering ambitious successors eager to carry on, and advancing other policies in line with a solid long-term outlook, to create a climate in which everyone engaged in farming, forestry, and fishery occupations can be proud of his or her work and to create cheerful and comfortable farming, forestry, and fishing villages.
With regard to rice, which forms the basis of Japanese agriculture, in view of the special importance of rice and rice-farming and in line with the spirit of the relevant Diet resolutions, I intend to deal with this with our basic policy of self-sufficiency from domestic production.
Enhanced Welfare for a Bright Aged Society
With the rapid advent of an aged society, major changes are underway in the social climate as it affects children and the home, including lower reproduction rates and greater participation of women in the work force. I intend to develop new welfare policies for the creation of an aged welfare society in which everyone from youngster to oldster can live a long, happy, and worthwhile life.
Along with forcefully promoting the Ten Year Strategy to Promote Health Care and Welfare for the Aged, I thus also intend to review insurance provisions for the elderly to create a system for health care as a central concern for the elderly and to work for the system's long-term stability. At the same time, I will enhance child allowances, provide child-care leave systems, and otherwise work to create the necessary conditions so that people who want to have children can have them and raise them in good health. Likewise, I will also work vigorously, for example, to efficiently provide quality medical care, including policies for preventing disease and curing the so-called incurable ailments and improving emergency medical care, to combat drug and stimulant abuse, and to strengthen food safety policies. I will also devise and implement carefully tailored policies for the handicapped and for fatherless homes.
Promoting Education, Culture, and Sports
Although Japan has become affluent in things, it is important, if we are not to become materially rich and spiritually poor, that we implement education that is not skewed toward book knowledge but also encourages individuality and creativity and enables all people to feel an affinity for the arts and culture and to take part in the creation of new culture, as well as that we provide lifelong educational opportunities and promote popular sports. Likewise, I will make a vigorous effort to promote science and technology, including promoting basic creative research and other academic research and promoting the development and utilization of space, the oceans, and nuclear power. At the same time, I will further promote international exchanges in all of these fields.
It is also important to institute policies to vigorously improve the working environment including shortening working hours. Accordingly, the government has embarked upon policies to promote the diffusion of systems providing for two full days off every week and other policies, but I also very much hope that these efforts will win the cooperation of the Japanese people and Japanese companies.
Looking at personal security considerations, our environment is becoming much more dangerous with frequent outbursts of gang violence, increasingly serious drug abuse, wanton terrorism and urban guerrilla attacks, and other problems. Ensuring public safety is basic to any law-abiding nation, and the government will do everything possible to ensure that the people are safe. In this same vein, an effort will be made to improve traffic safety in light of the recent increase in traffic fatalities.
Establishing the Politics of Trust
The Diet marked its centennial last year, and we are now taking the first steps in its second century. At this historic juncture, I am determined anew to do everything I can to establish the politics of trust.
Political fairness is the basis of social fairness in any democratic state, and I believe it is absolutely imperative that we push forward with political reform. Accordingly, the first need is to establish a system of political ethics. Along with this, it is necessary to reform the very structure of politics and elections, to ensure greater transparency in political funding, and to institute systems downgrading the importance of money in electoral politics, refocusing elections on policy issues, and elevating the role of parties. Fully respecting the recommendations of the Election System Council, the government is firmly resolved to reform the election system and political funding as an integrated package and to ensure equality of voter representation. We hope to have a proposal for the Diet to consider as soon as possible, and I trust all parties will give this effort the benefit of their understanding and cooperation.
Conclusion
Last year saw the holding of the Ceremonies of Accession to the Throne and Japan truly embarking upon the Heisei era. Along with renewing our vows as a nation of peace, I am determined that Japan should also be a nation treasuring the values of freedom and democracy and meeting its responsibilities for peace and prosperity as a member of the international community and especially as an Asian nation as we go forward to the 21st century.
Having transcended the East-West Cold War structures, the world is moving steadily forward to a new era. Just as last year's Houston Economic Summit declared that the final ten years of this century should be a Decade of Democracy, the values of freedom and democracy are now being more universally accepted. The world is truly moving to be one and is groping for structures with which to build a new world order. On the other hand, however, there are new dangers arising from conflicts and confrontations that had been overshadowed by the Cold War and are now coming to prominence. It is in such circumstances as these that Japan, as a responsible free democracy, must make continued efforts for the establishment of the post-Cold War world order and must create frameworks for peace to fulfill its responsibilities to the destiny that awaits us in the 21st century.
Having acquired considerable influence in the world economy, Japan needs to achieve a domestic society in which all of the people can have a heartfelt sense of being well-off. At the same time, we must make Japan a culturally rich nation by promoting the arts, culture, sports, and other human endeavors. While Japan has created today's industrial society with a strong emphasis on production and supply, let us now, while maintaining this firm foundation, work to build a fair and rich-feeling society founded upon being consumer-oriented, enhancing the people's standards of living, and achieving domestic-demand-centered growth.
Mindful of the major currents sweeping the world and of Japan's place in the world, I am determined to do everything possible at the government's helm to ensure that all people are able to approach the 21st century with hope and bright spirits.
In this, I ask for your understanding and cooperation.
(January 25, 1991)
At the resumption of this 120th Session of the Diet, I would like to set forth my views on the basic stance of Japan's foreign policy.
(Introduction)
The international community is currently in a period of great historic upheaval. We have observed in the socialist countries failure in their economies and a decline in old ideology, while the values of freedom and democracy, and of the market economy, are being widely reaffirmed. East-West relations have undergone a transformation, from confrontation based on ideology, to a relationship built upon coordination. Thus earnest efforts are under way, through dialogue and cooperation, in order to establish a new international order. However, although the Soviet Union has embarked upon domestic reform, confusion reigns in the political, economic, and social fields, rendering the future of the reform as yet unclear. The international community is fraught with uncertainty and instability, typical of a period of transition. Furthermore, the world is still plagued by many factors which may provoke confrontations or conflicts between nations, and the possibilities of the outbreak of regional conflicts, are very real.
(The Gulf Crisis)
The Gulf Crisis caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait last August is a typical manifestation of this fact. Faced with this aggression, the United Nations Security Council adopted a series of resolutions for the realization of a complete Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, and many nations of the world -- united strongly around the United Nations -- have made a wide range of efforts to restore peace and stability to the Gulf. Japan, for its part, has been steadily implementing measures of contribution for Gulf efforts amounting to a total of $4 billion, while making every diplomatic effort toward a peaceful solution of the problem, for example by making repeated demarches to top leaders of the Iraqi government for prompt compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Nevertheless, Iraq has consistently ignored the United Nations Security Council resolutions and efforts made by many countries towards a peaceful solution, including the visit of United Nations Secretary General de Cuellar to Iraq. The use of force of January 17 by the coalition forces was based on the resolution of the United Nations Security Council, and was embarked upon as a last resort. Japan has made clear its firm support for this action. It is highly regrettable that all the efforts of the entire international community towards a peaceful solution came to naught because of Iraq's stubborn refusal to withdraw from Kuwait. Furthermore, Iraq's one-sided missile attacks on Israel deserve our strong condemnation.
After World War II, Japan renounced war as means of settling international disputes and has determined to preserve its security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world. The maintenance of a just and stable international order is thus all the more essential for Japan's survival, and any attempt to destroy the international order by the use of force is totally unacceptable to Japan. Nor should we overlook the blatant disregard of the authority of the United Nations which should play a vital role in maintaining world order. Moreover, since the Gulf is a very important area, possessing 65% of the world's petroleum reserves and supplying approximately 70% of Japan's petroleum imports, securing the stability of the region is an objective of utmost importance for Japan.
As the United States and many other nations are, despite their economic difficulties, taking part in the multinational forces, determined to bear national sacrifice and considerable military expenditure, it is of vital importance for Japan, which is the most heavily dependent on the supplies of oil of the region among major developed countries, to take the initiative in extending all possible financial and other cooperation to actions giving effect to the Security Council resolutions, if it wishes to win full understanding of the international community on its position that Japan will refrain from participating in the use of force of the multinational forces in accordance with its Constitution. It is an undeniable fact that, in view of Japan's economic significance, there are strong expectations in the international community for Japan to bear substantial financial costs. It is no exaggeration to say that if Japan does not extend maximum financial support and does not give its best in terms of human cooperation, Japan could well find itself isolated from the international community.
With these considerations in mind, the Government of Japan decided to contribute an additional $9 billion to the Gulf Peace Fund in order to support the United States and other countries taking part in the peace restoration operations in the Gulf region. In response to the UNDRO's appeal to the international community for $38 million to meet start-up costs for evacuee relief, Japan assumed and promptly contributed the entire amount on its own. Japan continues to give particular attention to evacuee support. Moreover, we will transport evacuees to their home countries aboard Japanese commercial aircraft, and are also preparing to transport evacuees aboard Self Defense Forces airplanes if need be.
Japan strongly hopes that the war in the Gulf will be brought to an end as soon as possible. For this, the withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait is indispensable and Japan strongly urges President Hussein to make a prompt decision to that effect.
Even after the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, international cooperation will be necessary in such areas as economic reconstruction, regional security, and arms control in order to secure long-term stability in the Gulf. Furthermore, it is impossible to ensure stability in the Middle East without a settlement of the Palestinian issue, a major source of instability in that region. After the Gulf crisis is solved, the international community must redouble its efforts to find a solution to this problem. Japan will continue to examine ways of international cooperation on these issues, and, in close cooperation with the countries concerned, will work for long-term stability in this region.
(Relations with the U.S.)
The Gulf Crisis has once again clearly shown that the United States alone is capable of assuming the central role in the preservation of international peace and security. My visit to the United States just before the deadline for Iraq's compliance with the U.N. resolutions was made with this fact in mind, so that I may have close consultations, chiefly on the Gulf Crisis.
The Japan-U.S. relationship continues to be the cornerstone of Japan's foreign policy. However, recent years have witnessed the emergence of views in the United States that, in light of the accumulated trade imbalance with Japan, Japanese economic power poses a threat to the United States; and the current Gulf Crisis has rapidly heightened demand for Japan to shoulder greater responsibility. In order to overcome the apprehension towards Japan which is found in parts of American public opinion and to meet the growing expectation towards Japan from both the public and private circles in the United States, it is vital that Japan make its own decisions to take the initiative in playing its part and fulfilling its responsibilities in order to strengthen the Japan-U.S. relations for the coming decades.
Prerequisite to strengthening the alliance with the United States is that Japan, while maintaining a proper defense capability to the extent necessary for its own security, will continue to make every effort to enhance the credibility of the Japan-U.S. security arrangements and to secure their smooth operation. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the current Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between Japan and the United States. In retrospect, it was in 1952 that Japan concluded the Security Treaty with the United States in an effort to achieve stability and recovery amid the unstable situation in the Far East, and in 1960, the current treaty was concluded, with Japan and the United States on an equal footing. The correctness of this policy decision is proven by the fact that Japan has been blessed with peace in a turbulent world and has seen unprecedented economic prosperity and advancement of living standards. Today, the Japan-U.S. security arrangements provide a vital framework for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. While it is true that peacekeeping efforts centered upon United Nations are being undertaken in this period of transformation in international politics, there has been no change whatsoever in the need for firmly maintaining this Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. Accordingly, the Government of Japan has decided to take new measures in host nation support for U.S. forces stationed in Japan, and will submit the necessary special agreement to the Diet for consideration in this session.
Furthermore, it is important for both Japan and the United States to steadfastly solve their various bilateral problems in the spirit of cooperation and joint endeavors. It is also essential that the two nations strengthen the global partnership in both the political and economic spheres, including cooperation on the construction of a new world order, management of the world economy, economic development in the developing countries, and various issues that transcend national boundaries, such as that of the global environment. In order to further enhance mutual understanding which forms the basis of such cooperative relationship between the two countries, we will encourage dialogue and communication between the two peoples in particular through the use of the Global Partnership Fund, which is to be launched with a \50 billion fund.
The Government of Japan thus looks forward to the visit to Japan by President Bush scheduled for this spring and aspires to render this an opportunity to establish an even more solid Japan-U.S. relationship as we approach the 21st century.
(Relations with Asia-Pacific Nations)
The dramatic changes leading to the end of the Cold War took place mainly in Europe, but similar positive developments are emerging in our region, the Asia-Pacific. These include the improvement of Sino-Soviet relations, the beginning of withdrawal of Soviet forces from Cam Ranh Bay, and Mongolia, as well as democratization in Mongolia. Also observed are; the normalization of relations between the Republic of Korea and the Soviet Union, China's normalization of relations with Indonesia and Singapore, and progress in the North-South dialogue in the Korean Peninsula and in the Cambodian peace negotiations, bringing about a relaxation of tensions. The convening of official meetings between Japan and North Korea to pursue normalization of relations is yet another of these positive developments.
The strengthening of friendly and cooperative relations with the Republic of Korea is the pillar of Japan's policy towards the Korean Peninsula. Following President Roh Tae Woo's visit to Japan last May, Prime Minister Kaifu visited the Republic of Korea this month. Having accompanied him, my impression is that this trip achieved major results. We concluded the bilateral consultations regarding the long-standing issue of ROK nationals residing in Japan, and reaffirmed the three principles for the new era in our relations, thus contributing to the construction of enduring relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, looking into the 21st century.
As to our relations with North Korea (D.P.R.K.), the Japanese Government intends to hold talks on the establishment of diplomatic relations, keeping in view the entire situation affecting the Peninsula, and taking care to contribute to the relaxation of tensions, peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula. We will also press the D.P.R.K. Government, on this and other occasions, to conclude a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Regarding the Cambodian problem, Japan will further strengthen its diplomatic efforts, including direct contact with the Cambodian parties, for the achievement of a comprehensive peace settlement. Once a peace agreement is reached, our resolve is to take initiative in extending financial support and sending personnel to United Nations activities, cooperating in the repatriation of refugees and evacuees, and providing recovery assistance.
The ASEAN countries play an important role in maintaining peace and stability in the East Asia region, and on a wider scale, in securing world economic development. We consider it important to deepen dialogue and coordination with ASEAN nations not only on economic cooperation in Southeast Asia but also on the various problems in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan believes that the development of good relations with China is important to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. I strongly hope that China will promote reform and openness policies and play an even more constructive role in the international community. Japan, on its part, will extend as much assistance as possible to Chinese efforts for modernization, as in the Third Yen Loan, which is currently being progressively implemented.
It is also our policy to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Australia and New Zealand, both of which nations are focusing their interest in Asia.
Furthermore, Japan will endeavor to promote economic cooperation with the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific and to expand trade and investment in the region.
Turning to Southwest Asia, while there are efforts to promote regional cooperation through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, there also exist sources of instability such as in Kashmir, and greater effort is needed to solve the Afghanistan problem. Japan, while closely following the encouraging developments toward democracy in Nepal and Bangladesh, will be giving its utmost cooperation for stability and development in this whole region.
I believe that the time has come to give serious consideration to how to ensure long-term stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The approaches to achieving stability in this region would inevitably differ from those applied in Europe, for the geopolitical conditions and the security environments in this region are considerably different from those in Europe.
First of all, in sharp contrast to postwar Europe, where the reduction of military tension, including the threat of nuclear war, was the major preoccupation, the policy priorities of countries in the Asia-Pacific region are directed towards economic development, due to the fact that most countries in the region are developing countries.
Second, while in the European scene an East-West relationship in the form of bipolar confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organization had been dominant, the Asia-Pacific region contains a variety of factors, including the presence of China, which do not fall into a clear-cut East-West dichotomy, and the international political power relationship is multi-polar. In addition, the alliances are mostly bilateral; the conflict of interests among nations is complex; their threat perceptions are diverse; all of which make the overall security configuration extremely complex.
Third, in contrast to Europe where border issues and other postwar problem had been settled before the process of CSCE was initiated, in the Asia-Pacific region, there are still various unresolved disputes and conflicts, such as the North-South confrontation in the Korean Peninsula, the Cambodian conflict, and the Northern Territories issue between Japan and the Soviet Union.
Fourth, while there is in Europe a major trend toward unification both politically and economically, led by the movement of EC integration, the Asia-Pacific region is pursuing economic interdependence based upon political, social, and cultural diversity among nations and areas and their differences in stages of economic development.
In order to attain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region characterized by these features, priority should be given to efforts for settling such unresolved conflicts and disputes as the confrontation in the Korean Peninsula, the Cambodian problem, and the Northern Territories issue; and through this process, to strengthen dialogue and cooperative relations on sub-regional bases, with a view to attaining long-term stability in areas such as Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia.
With regard to region-wide cooperation, the importance of economic development for domestic stability in the countries of the region invites emphasis on economic cooperation. More specifically, I think the most appropriate approach for this region is to expand dialogue and cooperation on various political and economic questions in the region, making full use of the existing fora such as ASEAN, ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference, Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meetings, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.
Based on this position, Japan proposes to promote dialogue with interlocutors of the Asia-Pacific region for the purpose of forming an international consensus on how to achieve long-term stability in this region.
(Relations with the Soviet Union)
Radical improvement in Japan-Soviet relations is indispensable for attaining stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. This would require the reversion of the Northern Territories, the conclusion of a peace treaty, and a qualitatively new relationship between Japan and the Soviet Union.
In my recent visit to the Soviet Union, I had candid discussions with President Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Bessmertnykh. In these meetings, I called for a heroic decision on the part of the Soviet Union, so that President Gorbachev's visit to Japan scheduled for this April will be of historic significance, heralding the arrival of a new era in Japan-Soviet relations. I emphasized that Japan on its part is intent upon doing all that it can.
The Soviet Union is presently facing a complicated and difficult situation. Economic reforms have stalled and the relationship between the Union and the republics is in disarray. In particular, the resort to military action in the Baltic republics is a matter of grave concern. During my visit, I strongly appealed for a democratic and peaceful solution to the problem and expressed Japan's strong hopes that the Soviet Union will continue to strive for greater democracy and freedom.
(Relations with Europe)
In Europe, the Charter of Paris for New Europe of the CSCE was signed last November to proclaim an end to the era of confrontation and division of Europe, while efforts continue for the construction of a democratic, prosperous, and stable Europe around the EC. As for Japan, it will deepen its dialogue with European nations, particularly with the EC, on a wide range of subjects; political, economic and cultural, and will further strengthen its cooperation with them, including cooperation on global issues.
Japan will continue to support and assist reforms in the Eastern European countries for the establishment of democracy and development of market economies, recognizing that the success of these reforms will contribute to the stability not only of Europe but of the entire world.
(Relations with Other regions)
In recent years, we have seen great strides towards democracy in Latin America and many countries are making determined reforms based on the principles of market economy. Also, efforts for peace in Central America are steadily bearing fruit. Japan is determined to extend further support to these endeavors through international coordination.
In Africa, also, many nations are pursuing efforts in democratization and economic structural adjustment, and Japan will do its utmost to support these efforts. As for the problem of apartheid in South Africa, talks between the South African government and the black representatives are paving the way for a peaceful solution, and Japan intends to continue its support for these efforts by expanding its dialogue with South African parties, and strengthening its assistance for the black people of South Africa.
(Contribution to the World Economy)
The problems of large external imbalances among the leading nations and deep-rooted protectionist pressures still plague the world economy. In addition, there are new concerns over the slowdown in the economies of the industrial nations and the impact of the Gulf Crisis.
With the world's second largest economy, Japan must make an even more active contribution in dealing with such a situation and assuring sound development of the world economy. This is particularly true for the GATT Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, the failure of which would have an incalculable negative impact on the international community. Japan is committed to continuing to make a maximum effort for a timely and successful conclusion of these talks.
Japan also actively promotes economic policy coordination among the major industrial nations through summit meetings and in other fora. Moreover, in order to ensure smoother economic relations with other countries, we will maintain our domestic-demand-led economic policy and will seek to expand imports by improving market access and by promoting structural adjustments including deregulations.
(International Cooperation Initiative)
It is important in promoting these policies to further strengthen our "International Cooperation Initiative" with its three pillars of cooperating for peace, expanding Official Development Assistance, and strengthening international cultural exchange. We will continue our efforts in these areas. Also aspiring to contribute to the international community, Japan will continue to intensify its participation in solving problems common to all mankind in areas such as the global environment, drugs, international terrorism, refugees, and human rights, and its international contribution in the scientific and technological spheres, including transfers of technology.
In the area of cooperating for peace, Japan has been contributing financially to United Nations peacekeeping operations, and has dispatched personnel to the United Nations election observer groups in Namibia, Nicaragua, and Haiti. It is now important for us, in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution, to promptly establish a framework that will enable us to provide more speedy and effective personnel contributions to international operations such as the United Nations peacekeeping operations. With this in mind, the Government hopes to formulate as soon as possible a draft text embodying a new modality of international cooperation.
As for disarmament, the Gulf Crisis has brought to mind the importance of strengthening measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and missiles, and of controlling international transfer of conventional weapons by, for example, increasing its transparency and publicity. Japan intends to actively participate in international efforts towards these goals. Furthermore, Japan will spare no effort at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to contribute both to the progress of deliberations on a nuclear test ban and to the adoption of a convention banning chemical weapons.
The core of Japan's international cooperation is the Official Development Assistance. Amid further economic deteriorations in a number of developing countries, Japan, with its economy accounting for over one-tenth of world GNP, must continue to expand and consolidate its ODA. To this end, we will continue our efforts to steadily expand our ODA in quantitative terms, improve its quality, and reinforce our aid implementation systems, in line with the Fourth Medium-Term Target currently under way, and will endeavor to ensure effective and efficient implementation of assistance.
In addition, Japan will make efforts for greater mutual understanding through cultural and intellectual exchange with other countries. Japan will also strive to preserve the world's cultural heritage and to promote cultural cooperation with developing countries.
(Strengthening the Machinery for Foreign Policy)
In order to appropriately cope with the turbulent international situation in the pursuit of diplomatic activities, Japan must further strengthen its machinery for conducting its foreign policy. The Gulf Crisis has led to renewed recognition of the importance of improving arrangements for crisis management as well as for protecting Japanese nationals abroad. The Government will make further efforts in these areas.
(Conclusion)
Japan must actively fulfill its responsibility and play its role in promoting peace and prosperity in the world, making full use of its economic power and scientific and technological resources. Only by so doing will Japan be able to gain the trust of other countries, a trust without which Japan cannot occupy an honored place in the international society.
The understanding and cooperation of the Japanese people are indispensable for the Government to pursue the various foreign policies that I have outlined. The Government is determined to do its utmost to promote these policies, and I make a renewed appeal to the people of Japan and to my fellow Diet members for their strong support.
(4) Policy Speech By Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu to the 121st Session of the National Diet
(August 5, 1991)
At the opening of this 121st Session of the National Diet, I would like to state my views on some of the issues facing us and to seek your understanding and cooperation in dealing with them.
At the outset, I would like to express my mourning for those who perished in the Unzen eruption and my sincere condolences to their families, and I would also like to express my heartfelt sympathies to all of those who have been injured or displaced as a result of this eruption.
I would like, in this regard, to express my appreciation for the fact that their Majesties the Emperor and Empress visited this area and conveyed their best wishes to the people there.
Immediately after this disaster, the government established a Central Headquarters for Major Disaster Countermeasures, we sent survey teams to the area, I have gone to the area and heard what the Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture, the Mayor of Shimabara City, and the Mayor of the town of Fukae think should be done, and we have ardently undertaken relief measures in 21 areas as decided upon by the Headquarters.
Because this disaster is the largest volcanic eruption in recent years and bas already been quite prolonged, it is especially important that we pay first attention to stabilizing the livelihoods and educational provisions for the displaced peoples. Thus it is that the national, prefectural, city, and town governments are working on putting up make-shift housing and implementing other relief measures, and we will continue, while paying all due heed to local finances, to vigorously promote these much-needed relief measures and to actively take the necessary measures in the most serious consideration of disaster-prevention, development, revitalization, and other community-building after the disaster is over.
It is even today still impossible to be sure the volcanic activity at Unzen is over, and we will continue to maintain the sharpest surveillance and monitoring of the situation while effecting the necessary relief and other measures with the safety of the local residents our first consideration.
The compensation of certain clients for their trading losses, questionable dealings with some clients, and other improprieties by the securities companies that have recently come to light are most deplorable not only because they violate the standards expected of licensed companies and have seriously undermined general investor trust worldwide in the integrity of our stock markets but also because they are at variance with our ideal of a fair society.
As well as calling upon the securities companies that compensated their clients for trading losses to determine exactly where the in-house responsibility lies and to sharply scale back their trading, the government is also well aware of the grave responsibilities of the supervisory authority that things have come to this pass and had dealt most harshly with this. Seventeen securities houses, including the Big Four, have voluntarily disclosed the names and other information on the corporate clients to which they made these compensatory payments.
Seeking to ensure that such situations not recur and to restore the trust of the general investing public, we are now hard at work drafting legislation to be submitted to this Session of the Diet amending the Securities Exchange Law, including a ban on discretionary accounts and a prohibition against after-the-fact compensation for losses incurred, and are working to step up inspection of securities companies and otherwise to ensure and appropriate management policies at the securities houses and fair trading on the markets.
Also in connection with these recent improprieties by the securities houses, I have asked the Provisional Council for the Promotion of Administrative Reform to deliberate the corrective policies needed for enhanced oversight and the rectification of the securities markets.
In the same way, I am most disappointed that improprieties have taken place on the part of some employees at some banks, and I am very strongly calling upon everyone concerned to realize the error of their ways.
Achieving Political Reform
Since taking office, I have believed that it is my historic mission to achieve political reform and have approached this tasks with unyielding determination. The essence of politics is that of being responsive to the popular mandate and establishing modes of government the people can trust, that are easily understood, and that are fair. Looking back in all humility, however, I must admit that, with the issue of politics and money, the reality has been one of increasing popular distrust.
The establishment of political ethics is fundamental to political reform, and it is imperative that each and every politician have the highest ethical standards and be ever-determined to exercise the strictest self-control. At the same time, it is also true that there are a number of systematic issues in the way politics and government currently work that need to be reformed.
Parliamentary democracy is supported by elections, and parliamentary government is party politics. Under our current system of multi-seat constituencies for the House of Representatives, any party seeking to win a large number of seats and to become the ruling party must field plural candidates in the same election district. Even if the party won one seat from every one of Japan's 130 electoral districts, this would still be only about one quarter of the total 512 seats in the House of Representatives. In this system necessitating plural candidacies in election districts, candidates who basically agree on their policy emphasis are forced to compete on a personal level on non-policy issues. And if we are not careful, it could happen that elections devoid of policy debate could mean that policy issues, which should be central to party politics, would lose this important forum for discussion, that personal ties between candidates and voters would be seen as more important, and that considerable energy would be spent on maintaining and reinforcing these personal ties. I believe much of what underlies the issues of political ethics and political funding goes back to the fact that the individual candidate is personally responsible for so much political campaigning and other action under our current election system. Likewise, the fact that the balance of power among the parties has solidified and that there has been no change of government has meant a loss of creative political tension. It is thus necessary to reform our fatigued multiseat constituency system and to create a party-based electoral system in which policy itself will be the focus of debate. This will also motivate the people to take a greater part in politics and will enable them to identify more with politics.
In line with this basic thinking, the government is, as a key pillar of political reform, proposing a system of single-seat and proportional representation constituencies so as to establish political ethics and the fairness of political funding and also so as to enable politics to respond quickly and astutely to the domestic and international problems facing us from a national perspective. By combining single-seat and a proportional representation this way, it should be possible to reflect minority views in national policies and to get a more detailed feel for the popular will. On the redistricting, we are proposing the draft put forth by the Election System Council, which is a strictly non-partisan and disinterested body. Within this plan, every effort has been made to see that the weighing of votes is less than 1:2, except in a few unavoidable situations. Along with this redistricting, the current proposal also calls for sharply reducing the number of House of Representatives seats from 512 at present to 471 after the reforms, and I trust this is a clear indication to the people of the determination with which we approach political reform.
On the issue of political funding, which has sparked this drive for political reform, while it is true that politics does require a certain amount of money today, massive sums are being spent on what are, strictly speaking, non-political activities, and we all know that there has been considerable criticism of the way this money is raised and spent.
These reforms thus create a system in which the political parties would be central to raising political funds, in which there would be more disclosure of political funding, and which would ensure that the regulations are enforced effectively. Likewise, the reforms impose strict measures to deal with electoral corruption, including strengthened regulations regarding co-culpability, and assuming the adoption of these political reforms, goes one step further in introducing public funding of political parties such as is practiced in other countries. This is proposed in the realization that the parties' political activity is very much public in that it contributes to the formation of the national will, and I believe this is also needed to ensure fair political activity and to strengthen politics' financial underpinnings.
At the same time, I also intend to continue the deliberations on possible reform of the electoral system for the House of Councillors.
Except for one chaotic period immediately after the war, the present system of electing members of the House of Representatives goes back over 60 years. These reforms that I propose are intended to vigorously sweep away the various ills that have grown up over the long decades. These reforms directly affect the political futures of each and every member of the Diet, and I am sure that there are some sharply opposing interests, just as I know that there has been much discussion among the different parties. Yet when we look at politics today, who can deny the need to implement these harshly painful reforms and to create a new kind of politics winning the popular trust and responsive to the popular mandate? I thus ask for your understanding and cooperation in passing the Bill to Amend the Public Office Election Law and the other two political reform bills.
Promoting Administrative and Fiscal Reform
Japan's fiscal situation remains very grim, and, in light of the fact that there are changes underway in the economic factors that have so far produced major revenue enhancements, we will continue to conduct the most searching review of institutions and expenditures in drawing up future budgets. Likewise, I intend to promote administrative and fiscal reform at both the national and the local levels paying the utmost respect to the Provisional Council for the Promotion of Administrative Reform's first report and other recommendations.
Japan's International Role and Responsibilities
Attending the London Economic Summit last month, I held frank and lively exchanges of views with the leaders of the other industrial democracies having major responsibilities for world peace and prosperity for the purpose of strengthening the international order and creating a global partnership for the 21st century. Japan being the only country in attendance from Asia, I made a special effort to highlight Asian views and to ensure that this Summit was truly global in outlook.
Even before the Summit, I met with President Bush at his Kennebunkport summer house and we reaffirmed anew both that the cooperative relationship between Japan and the United States is not only in our two countries' interests but is also extremely important to the entire world and that it is indispensable for world peace and prosperity that our two countries cooperate in dealing with many global issues before us.
Held against a background of the international community's having overcome the Gulf Crisis through solidarity under the United Nations, this Summit provided a clear indication of the emphasis on multilateral cooperation centered around the United Nations in building a new international order. This is an effort to impart a sound direction to the world in the wake of having transcended Cold War structures, and it is consistent with the central position that Japan has long accorded the United Nations.
Looking ahead, each of our countries must take an active role in strengthening these United Nations functions and roles for the maintenance of world peace and must vigorously support these efforts. Japan has long provided significant financial cooperation for United Nations peacekeeping operations, and we have also contributed in the area of personnel by, for example, providing experts to assist election monitoring groups. Yet I believe we need to improve our domestic arrangements to enable us to contribute better and faster on the personnel level. With the recent Gulf Crisis, I believe the Japanese people have come to accept a shared awareness that Japan needs to contribute actively to world peace not only in financial and material terms but also in personnel terms as well. Of course we must firmly uphold our ideal of peace based upon contrition at past actions, but so must we also work to see that these ideals are translated into reality by further promoting international humanitarian cooperation and by taking a more active part and doing what we can in international efforts to create an order preserving world peace.
Given this realization, we are now giving serious study to amendments that would allow Self-Defense Forces participation so that Japan could do even more to provide enhanced international emergency relief, and we are also working in the area of enhanced cooperation with the United Nations peacekeeping operations to ready new legislation for international peacekeeping cooperation for submission to this Session of the Diet that would enable Japan to undertake a more active role based upon the discussions that led to the tripartite agreement among the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic Socialist parties as well as on the discussions still to be held.
I would thus like to take this opportunity to pay my respects and appreciation anew to the specialists who went to the Persian Gulf to help deal with the environmental problems created by the oil spills there, the international emergency relief teams that went to help the Kurds and other evacuees and to assist in cyclone relief in Bangladesh, the Self-Defense Forces now at work on minesweeping operations in the Persian Gulf, and all the other Japanese who have contributed their time and effort for international causes. At the same time, I would like to express my mourning for the Japanese who were victims of terrorism as they toiled in the name of international cooperation in Peru. I intend to do all I can to prevent future such tragedies.
One of the lessons to be learned from the recent Gulf Crisis is that of how very dangerous it can be for any country to have more of a military capability than it needs for its own security. The need to prevent similar situations in the future makes it extremely important that we promote arms control and disarmament and essential that we work to deter the proliferation of nuclear, biological, chemical, and other weapons of mass destruction and missile systems and to institute greater transparency and openness as regards the transfer of conventional weapons. Having long advocated the ultimate abolition of nuclear weapons, I welcome the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty by the United States and the Soviet Union.
I personally attended the United Nations Kyoto Conference on Disarmament Issues which was convened at Japanese initiative this May and spelled out Japanese thinking on arms control and disarmament, including the creation of a United Nations reporting system on the transfer of conventional weapons. Given that this United Nations reporting system was also supported by last month's London Summit, we intend, in cooperation with the other countries concerned, to submit a draft resolution calling for the system's establishment to this fall's General Assembly Session and to work for its implementation. In line with the Summit Declaration, Japan is determined to do what it can to actively promote international efforts for arms control and disarmament.
It was in this same vein that I announced at the recent Regular Session of the National Diet that Japan intends, in implementing its economic cooperation, to pay all due heed to the trends in each recipient country regarding its military expenditures, its development and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, its arms trade, and other factors. This stance was also well received by the other Summit countries, and the Summit countries are on record as encouraging all other donor countries to take similar action. We intend to institute appropriate economic cooperation in full consideration of this point.
Having imposed the most stringent controls on its own arms exports in line with the three principles regarding arms exports and other guidelines, Japan views the recent allegation of illegal arms exports as being of utmost gravity, and we intend to deal harshly with this in full application of the relevant laws and regulations if the charges prove out, and the government will also step up its business guidance and otherwise implement the strictest controls on arms exports.
All of the Summit leaders are agreed on wanting the Uruguay Round negotiations to succeed, and it is essential that Japan, having achieved its current prosperity and international standing largely thanks to the multilateral free trading system, take the lead on this important issue.
I believe the fact that this Summit evidenced firm determination to conclude the Round successfully by the year's end is very important in providing new impetus for the negotiations. This Uruguay Round encompasses negotiations on a wide range of fields including market access, agriculture, services, and intellectual property rights and is a very important set of negotiations defining the framework for global economic prosperity looking ahead to the 21st century. With the negotiations going into full swing this fall, I am determined to make all due preparations and to approach the negotiations with the understanding of all of the people. With regard to rice, in view of the special importance of rice and rice-farming in Japan and in line with the spirit of the relevant Diet resolutions, I intend to deal with this with our basic policy of self-sufficiency from domestic production.
In the post-Summit meetings that the participating countries held with President Gorbachev, the leaders of the Summit countries expressed their support for the Soviet Union's own reform efforts in accordance with the right direction of perestroika and, from the shared perspective that technical assistance is most effective at this stage, conveyed to President Gorbachev the message that we intend to cooperate as appropriate with expanded technical assistance and special association with the IMF and the World Bank.
The Summit countries confirmed that it is essential that Soviet "new thinking" diplomacy be applied on a global basis and, in this connection, that it is important that there be a full normalization of Japan-U.S.S.R. relations including resolution of the Northern Territories issue.
Likewise, it is essential to work for greater dialogue and cooperation through the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the Dialogue Partners and other existing frameworks so as to promote peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, and it is also important that progress be made in China's economic and political reforms, on resolving the destabilizing situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Cambodia, on promoting democratization and market economics in Mongolia, and in other areas. This awareness was also included in the Summit Chairman's Statement, and Japan intends to continue making a positive effort for peace and prosperity throughout the region. It is also in line with this basic stance that I intend to visit China and Mongolia soon.
Following the London Summit meeting, I went to the Netherlands, which is the current EC president country, and held the first Japan-EC Summit meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Lubbers and EC Commission President Delors. Because the EC is promoting not only economic but also political union and is coming to be even more important on the international political scene, it is essential that Japan and the EC enter into a global partnership like that with the United States and promote the strengthening of broad-based political, economic, cultural, and other relations. The Japan-EC Joint Declaration issued last month is symbolic of this new relationship between Japan and the EC.
Indeed, I would not be able to make this kind of report to you were it not for the cumulative efforts of our illustrious predecessors and the fact that Japan has attained a greater presence as a result of its stable economic development.
Conclusion
The groundswell of political and economic democratization that started in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe the year before last has now spread beyond this region and is evident also in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, and there is today a deep and powerful current of democratic winds and renewal sweeping the entire world. The historical advance of democracy that we have witnessed over the past few years portends the dawn of a new era for mankind.
At this juncture when the value of democracy is beginning to be accepted worldwide as a universal principle for all mankind, I believe that Japan should look anew at its own situation and make every effort to further advance the cause of democracy.
Indeed, the basic thrust of the political reforms that I am proposing is that we should have a system under which the people are able to assess and elect their own representatives on the basis of their policies and parties and that, as a result, government policy accurately reflects the will of the people. Only when democracy truly functions on the basis of policies and parties like this, it will be possible to say truly that sovereignty resides with the people and that the people are able to determine their own destiny. This is also crucial if we are to guide the nation in the right directions in the years ahead in keeping with our increasingly important international role and responsibilities.
These reforms are bound to be painful. Yet it is only when we can transcend that pain and institute the reforms ourselves that we will be assured of a brighter future. I am thus imploring you to enact these political reforms so that we can stand as an important industrial democracy and can consolidate the foundations for democratic government in Japan in the 21st century.
In this, I ask again for your understanding and cooperation.