Greeting   leadership   Relationalship   For the future   Message to Japanese

MR. CHIKUSHI: We have our special guest today who has the biggest influence and responsibility to the future of humankind. We have this most important bilateral relations, and he's the most responsible person in all of the United States. We are very happy to have him, to greet him with a large number of audience. Mr. Bill Clinton, the President of the United States. (Applause.) Mr. President, welcome to our program, and I appreciate your choice to join us. It's really an honor. I will skip any more ceremonial remarks -- to begin with, you have something to say to the people. THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I will be very brief so that we can leave the most time possible for questions. But I would like to begin by thanking you and this station for making this program possible. I thank all of you for participating, and also those in Osaka who are joining us. I would like to open by just emphasizing some things I think we all know. First, the relationship between the United States and Japan is very, very important to both countries and to the world. We have a very broad partnership in the security area, in the political area, in the economic area. Over the years there is sometimes greater emphasis on one issue than another; over the years sometimes America is having particular problems, sometimes Japan is. But the enduring nature of our democratic partnership across all the differences between our peoples is profoundly important. And on the edge of this new century and a new millennium, when there is so much change in the way people work and live and relate to each other, it will become more important. That's why I'm here and why I wanted to be a part of this town hall meeting. And I thank you very much. (Applause.)
[Read in Japanese]