Tokyo – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and U.S. President Barack Obama achieved a “historic” success in an agreement on security issues and made progress in bilateral trade talks.
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“It was a historic statement for Japan and the United States,” Abe told reporters shortly after Obama finished the first state visit to Japan by a U.S. president in 18 years.
The two countries issued a joint statement saying they oppose attempts to assert territorial or maritime claims by coercion, specifying that their bilateral security treaty covers Japanese islands claimed by China, and welcoming Japan’s consideration of allowing its military to come to the defense of friendly countries under attack.
They failed to reach a bilateral trade deal that is key to both leaders’ agendas. But Abe said they achieved a “key milestone” by making progress on the talks, which they said will inject “fresh momentum” into attempts to reach a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.
It’s their greatest foreign policy victory. If you don’t count Pearl Harbor.
Why are you still mentioning Pearl Harbor, after seventy two years? The surprise attack on 12/7/41, were performed at the behest of the militarists in Japan, along with the Japanese Imperial Navy. The militarists were in charge of Japan at that time, and it aggressively expanded its sphere of influence. However, in the four years since that surprise attack, Japan was paid back dearly. It lost millions of soldiers and sailors in combat, its cities were firebombed, nuked, and ravaged, and its civilian population was on the verge of starvation. Now, there is a democratic, peaceful Japan, which is our best ally in the Pacific area. Therefore, any additional responsibilities which Japan can take to shoulder a larger share of the burden of keeping the peace, in that area of the world would be most welcome. Incidentally, I’ve visited Pearl Harbor, and have seen the oil still leaking out of the Arizona; therefore, don’t remind me of that horrible day!