Remarks - Consulate General of Japan

We saw the great success of last summer’s US-Japan Summit held with the alumniof the Japanese American Leadership Delegation.Together, we were able to open the way for many new Japanese Americancontributions to the Japan-US relationship in the future.Most of all, I have been happy to get to know so many of you and your stories.In order for the government and the Japanese American community to worktogether, it is important for us to know each other.I believe this means grasping the prewar and postwar history of JapaneseAmericans and how they rose to meet unimaginable challenges.I have never had an experience like joining the pilgrimages to Manzanar and TuleLake.I remember the scene very clearly when I had the honor of addressing thethousands of pilgrimage participants there.I can still see the blue sky, the snow-capped mountains, and the harsh desertscenery in my mind.For me, this was the moment when I truly felt that I had understood somethingvery central to the Japanese American experience.I believe that we are now entering into a new phase of cooperation between Japanand Japanese Americans on bilateral relations.6