Shinzo Abe’s Speech to Congress Marks a New Era in U.S. – Japan Relations

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a masterful speech to a joint session of Congress yesterday.  It was a speech by the leader of one of America’s closest friends who wants to move beyond the past and confront the economic and security challenges of today.

Abe expressed “deep repentance”  for World War II, offering “eternal condolences to the souls of all American people that were lost.”  He also expressed “feelings of deep remorse over the war” and acknowledged that “our actions brought suffering to the peoples in Asian countries, we must not avert our eyes from that.”

These gracious and heartfelt words drew a standing ovation.

Abe was the first Japanese Prime Minister to address a joint session of Congress.  (His grandfather, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, spoke to the Senate in 1957.)  Previous prime ministers were not invited to speak to Congress because of a belief by some members of Congress that Japanese officials had not apologized enough for World War II.  This week’s speech by Prime Minister Abe indicates that the U.S. Congress has finally moved beyond the war and realizes we must work with our Japanese friends on the security and economic threats of 2015, not 1941.

Japan is the key to America’s security and economic interests in the Asia-Pacific.  Tokyo and Washington are concerned about China’s rapidly growing military efforts to claim vast areas of the South China Sea as Chinese territory.  Abe recognizes this and has begun to move beyond the restraints of the country’s pacifist constitution.  This includes a security reform that was unthinkable just a few years ago: forming a Japanese intelligence service to collect foreign intelligence and defend the nation against aggressive intelligence operations against Japan by China.

The Washington Post recognized the importance of Abe’s security policies in an editorial this week which said “America should welcome Japan’s moves toward a more assertive role in the world” and noted that the Japan of today is “a peaceable democracy, a reliable U.S. ally, and a good neighbor to other Asian countries.”

The Prime Minister pressed Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact between the United States and 12 Asian nations.  This agreement will significantly improve trade between the United States and Japan and open the Japanese market to U.S. products.  The TTP is important for Japan given domestic economic problems and efforts by Chinese to dominate the regional economy.   TTP is crucial to the U.S.-Japan relationship and should be approved by Congress ASAP.

Professor Yoichi Shimada, a friend of mine who teaches international politics at Fukui Prefectural University, has described Prime Minister Abe as “the Ronald Reagan of Japan.”  I could see why he believes this as I listened to Abe’s speech yesterday which showed same kind of optimism, vision, and decisiveness of President Reagan’s speeches.   Although Prime Minister Abe has some difficult challenges ahead of him, based on the warm reception he received from Congress this week, I am hopeful there is a strong bipartisan majority in the U.S. Congress that is ready to support him.