Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida on Thursday called on Americans to overcome their “self-doubt” as he praised US global leadership before a divided Congress.
In warning of the risks from a rising China, Kishida said Japan was determined to do more to share responsibility with its ally, the United States.
“As we meet here today, I sense a sense of self-doubt among some Americans regarding what your role in the world should be,” Kishida said in a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate during a state visit to Washington.
“The international order that the US spent generations working to build is facing new challenges, challenges from those whose values and principles are very different from ours,” Kishida said.
Kishida said he understood “the fatigue of being the country that almost single-handedly maintains the international order,” but added: “The leadership of the United States cannot be replaced.”
“Without US support, how long will it be before Ukraine’s hopes will crumble under attacks from Moscow?” he asked.
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“Without the presence of the United States, how long will it be before the Asia Pacific will face harsher realities?”
In an implicit reference to Chinese pressure on Taiwan and elsewhere, Kishida said, “Today’s Ukraine may be tomorrow’s East Asia.”
Although he was careful not to touch on domestic US politics, Kishida’s speech came amid a deadlock in Congress in approving billions of dollars in additional military aid for Ukraine, due to pressure from hardline Republicans aligned with presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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China’s Biggest Challenge
Kishida met Wednesday with President Joe Biden where they pledged to increase cooperation, including with a new three-pronged air defense defense involving the United States, Japan and Australia.
Sending a clear signal to China, Kishida met once more with Biden on Thursday for a three-way meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, who has been the target of China’s increasingly assertive moves in the disputed waters.
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Kishida said China’s military moves “create an unprecedented and greatest security challenge.”
“China’s actions pose a challenge not only to Japan’s peace and security but also to the peace and stability of the international community at large,” he said.
Kishida’s speech, from the table where Biden gave a raucous State of the Union address just one month ago, marked a rare moment of bipartisan unity in Congress.
Lawmakers across party lines applauded repeatedly as Kishida reiterated support for Ukraine, warned of Chinese influence and highlighted Japanese investments in the United States.
Kishida also welcomed to the gallery two astronauts — one of whom is Japanese and one of whom is Japanese-American — following Biden announced a Japanese citizen would be the first non-American to set foot on the Moon.
The prime minister, who spent part of his childhood in New York City, read his speech in fluent English, following speaking in Japanese at his press conference with Biden.
In a feat that would be overlooked by a foreign leader visiting Washington, he managed to tell several jokes, including mentioning how he watched the classic cartoon “The Flintstones” as a child in the Big Apple.
“I still miss that show, even though I can never translate, ‘Yabba Dabba Doo,'” he said, quoting Fred Flintstone’s signature phrase.
Raising a glass to Kishida followingwards at a State Department luncheon, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the speech was probably “the first time anyone speaking before a joint session managed to mention ‘The Flintstones’.” (AFP/Z-3)
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