Announcements | May 07, 2015
JUMP gets mention by PM Shinzo Abe
Last week at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA’s Second Annual Security Forum, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered remarks as a follow-up to his earlier speech in front of a joint session of Congress. He elaborated on the growing strength of the U.S.-Japan relationship and the new defense guidelines released by the Japanese government earlier that week.
As part of the emphasis on fostering people-to-people relationships between the two countries, Abe recalled Operation Tomodachi, which brought U.S. forces to Japan to help ease the devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent disasters.
“In order for us not to forget the kindness we received from you, and also for us to strengthen the “kizuna,” or bonds of friendship, we have with the U.S. military even further, we are launching in cooperation with [Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA] a project to network people who have worked in the U.S. Forces in Japan. We will keep up our efforts to strengthen that network.
Across the United States, current and former servicemen and women and their family members who spent time in the U.S. Forces in Japan are playing important roles in various ways. Connecting them in a broad network will enable them to recall from time to time their days in Japan, and possibly, also serve to support the U.S.-Japan relationship.”
Prime Minister Abe expressed his commitment to building the network of those who have served in Japan as a way to improve the overall relationship between the two countries.
See his full remarks below (Japanese only), or find the full transcript (English and Japanese) on Sasakawa USA’s website here.
