Trump goes to Japan

November 05, 2017
Remarks by President Trump to Servicemembers at Yokota Air Base
Yokota Air Base
Fussa, Japan
11:08 A.M. HST

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I like this better. (Applause.) You can have my jacket. Right? Thank you. Thank you, honey. Thank you.

Oh, boy, that’s something. This is a great group of people. Thank you very much, and General Martinez, everybody, for your devoted leadership of our brave troops right here in Japan, and especially thank you — especially, especially — to all of the incredible servicemembers.

We’re really here today, we’re going to have a good time, and we’re going to celebrate your achievements. So I’ll issue one of your favorite commands. Are you ready? At ease! At ease! (Applause.) Just sit back. Now have a good time. (Laughter.) Just have a good time.

Melania and I also want to extend a special thanks to Ambassador Bill Hagerty, who’s doing an outstanding job. He’s an outstanding person. I know him very well. Believe me, you got one of the great ones. He’s leading our American embassy in Tokyo.

I’m honored to be here today in this beautiful country, home of the extraordinary people of Japan. Japan is a treasured partner and crucial ally of the United States. And today we thank them for welcoming us and for decades of wonderful friendship between our two nations.

Americans have deep respect and admiration for the people of Japan — their amazing culture, their strong spirit, and their very proud history.

So on behalf of the United States of America, I send the warmest wishes of the American people to the citizens of this remarkable country. (Applause.)

now I know how you guys feel. This is pretty good. (Laughter.)

travels across Asia will take us to many historic places to see many wonderful sights, and to speak before many audiences. But there is no single place I’d rather begin my trip than right here, with all of you — the incredible men and women of the United States military — and your amazing partners, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. Thank you for being here. Thank you. (Applause.)

To everyone here today who serves your country in uniform: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We salute you — (laughter) — what’s your rank? (Laughter.) We’re going to raise it. (Applause.) We salute you, we honor you, and we stand proudly with the men and women who defend us and our way of life. Nations are built from the courage, love, and sacrifice of patriots just like you.

Each of you inherits the proud legacy of generations of warriors that have walked these very grounds for more than seven decades.

From Yokota’s runways, American pilots took to the air and drove back the invaders during the Korean War. Tremendous courage. Tremendous bravery. From here, they enforced a precious peace during a long and bitter Cold War. And in the aftermath of the devastating 2011 tsunami, this base served as the launching point for Operation Tomodachi — the largest humanitarian relief effort in American history, which saved the lives of thousands and thousands of great Japanese citizens.

Like those who came before you, you always rise to the occasion, and you never, ever let your country down.

General Martinez, General Chiarotti, General Pasquarette, Rear Admiral Fenton, Brigadier General Winkler, Colonel Moss, and Chief Master Sergeant Greene: You lead the forces under your command with exceptional skill and devotion, and America is tremendously grateful to you. (Applause.)

We’re also fortunate to stand alongside such strong and capable allies. General Maehera, General Asai, General Imaki, and General Ando: Thank you for your leadership and service. Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

On behalf of the American people, I want each and every one of you, both American and Japanese, to know that your service and commitment helps keep us all safe, strong, and free.

I also want to express our gratitude to the family members and loved ones who sacrifice so much to make your service possible. They are absolutely incredible people, and it’s not easy. America is profoundly grateful for all you do.

And we are, back home, starting to do — I will tell you, and you’re reading and you’re seeing — really, really well. The stock market is at an all-time high. (Applause.) Unemployment, back in the United States, is at a 17-year low. (Applause.) Almost 2 million jobs have been added since a very, very special day; it’s called Election Day, November 8th. Two million jobs. (Applause.) It’s a lot of jobs.

And we’ve dealt ISIS one brutal defeat after another. And it’s about time. (Applause.)

It’s truly inspiring to see American airmen and Marines and — (applause) — you know, I have a great Marine here: General Kelly, four-star. Did anyone ever hear of General Kelly? Where’s General Kelly? (Applause.) He is something. Now he’s Chief of Staff. But he does like those four stars, I want to tell you that. (Laughter.)

But American airmen and the Marines and Japanese Self-Defense Forces that are standing here with us today, side-by-side, confident, committed, and more capable than ever. You instill confidence in the hearts of our allies, and you strike fear in the hearts of our enemies. It’s the way it should be, isn’t it? (Applause.)

Our alliance is a testament to the transformative power of freedom. Today, nations that once waged war now stand together as friends and partners in pursuit of a much better world. And we’re getting there. We’re getting there faster than you think.

With your presence here today, shoulder-to-shoulder, you put hope into every soul that yearns for peace. All of you have made Yokota one of the most capable operational bases in Japan and, actually, anywhere in the world. For over a decade, this incredible place has been home not only to American servicemembers, but also to the Air Defense Command of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. Today, this base serves as a critical center for coordination for American and Japanese commanders to plan their missions.

For almost 60 years, the military alliance we see on this base has endured — a cornerstone of sovereignty, security, and prosperity for our nations, this region, and indeed the entire world. Today, we pay tribute to that legacy — a legacy you protect and grow each and every day.

We dominate the sky, we dominate the sea, we dominate the land and space — (applause) — not merely because we have the best equipment, which we do — and, by the way, a lot of it’s coming in; you saw that budget. That’s a lot different than in the past. A lot of beautiful, brand new equipment is coming in. And nobody makes it like they make it in the United States. Nobody. (Applause.) Got a lot of stuff coming. Use it well.

But because we have — more important than equipment, we have the best people. Each of you embodies the warrior creed. Your devotion, prowess, and expertise make you the most fearsome fighting force in the history of our world.

Together with our allies, America’s warriors are prepared to defend our nation using the full range of our unmatched capabilities. No one — no dictator, no regime, and no nation — should underestimate, ever, American resolve. Every once in a while, in the past, they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it? (Applause.) It was not pleasant.

We will never yield, never waver, and never falter in defense of our people, our freedom, and our great American flag. (Applause.) That flag stands for the values of our Republic, the history of our people, the sacrifice of our heroes, and our loyalty to the nation we love.

As long as I am President, the servicemen and women who defend our nation will have the equipment, the resources, and the funding they need to secure our homeland, to respond to our enemies quickly and decisively, and, when necessary, to fight, to overpower, and to always, always, always win. Right? (Applause.) This is the heritage of the American Armed Forces — the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever known.

Free nations must be strong nations, and we welcome it when our allies — from Europe to Asia — renew their commitment to peace through strength. We seek peace and stability for the nations of the world, including those right here in this region. And it’s a great region.

As Americans celebrate Veterans Day this month, we honor all who have sacrificed to make peace and stability possible. We pay tribute to every proud American who has worn the uniform and served our country.

Today, many nations of the Indo-Pacific are thriving because of the sacrifices made by American servicemembers and our allies, and because of the sacrifices all of you continue to make each and every day.

Here in Japan, we have seen the amazing things that are possible when a people are free and independent. Over the course of a single lifetime, the Japanese people have built one of the most successful societies and nations in the world.

Over the next 10 days, we travel to South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. We will seek new opportunities for cooperation and commerce, and we will partner with friends and allies to pursue a free and open Indo-Pacific Region. We will seek free, fair, and reciprocal trade.

But this future is only within our grasp because of you. You make it possible for peace-loving nations to thrive and for peace-loving people to prosper.

You are the reason the great American flag will proudly stand behind me wherever I go. And every time I look at that flag, I will think of brave men and women like you, and I will think of all the American patriots, down through the generations, who poured out their blood, sweat, tears, hopes, and dreams to defend our country.

When you follow your citizens and people across the Indo-Pacific region — see the flags of free and sovereign states, like the United States and Japan, displayed during our diplomatic meetings over the next 10 days, be proud of your nation, be proud of your service, and be proud of the security you provide that makes it all possible.

Like your predecessors, you — our brave warriors — are the last bulwark against threats to the dreams of people in America and Japan, and all across the world.

You are the greatest hope for people who desire to live in freedom and harmony, and you are the greatest threat to tyrants and dictators who seek to prey on the innocent.

History has proven over and over that the road of the tyrant is a steady march toward poverty, suffering, and servitude. But the path of strong nations and free people, certain of their values and confident in their futures, is a proven path toward prosperity and peace. We cherish our cultures, we embrace our values, and we always fight for what we believe in.

Because of you, the people of America, the people of Japan, and the freedom-loving people everywhere are able to fulfill their destinies and follow their dreams. And we are grateful for your families, for their sacrifice and support that allows our brave men and women to serve. We also appreciate the sacrifice of dedicated civilians who keep this base going and take care of our military and their precious loved ones.

We are eternally grateful for your service and for your sacrifice. And we are forever in your debt.

I am so proud to be here with you today. We face many challenges and many opportunities, and we will face all of them together as a team. And if we do, I am certain that the future for America, for Japan, and for our cherished allies has never, ever looked brighter. Because of patriots like you, freedom will prevail.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless the Armed Forces. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you. Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you.

END

11:26 A.M. HST

 

November 06, 2017
Remarks by President Trump in a Meeting with Families of North Korean Abductees
Akasaka Palace
Tokyo, Japan
2:34 P.M. JST

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. We’ve just heard the very sad stories about family members — daughters, wives, brothers, uncles, fathers. It’s a very, very sad number of stories that we’ve heard. And they were abducted, in all cases, by North Korea. And we will work with Prime Minister Abe on trying to get them back to their loved ones.

In some cases, many years ago, they were taken. They were used to learn the language. They were used for many different reasons. But it’s a tremendous disgrace. And I just met some really wonderful people who have gone through a lot.

So I will work with Prime Minister Abe. We’ll work together very closely and see if we can bring them back to Japan, where they want to be. Thank you very much.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) President Trump, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for what you delivered — this speech at the U.N. General Assembly. The speech by the American President on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly is something that the entire world would pay attention to.

And in this special speech that you delivered, you specifically touched on the fate of Ms. Megumi Yokota, as well as the abductions issue. And I do appreciate that — how you specifically refer to this issue.

And also I am grateful for you, that you are taking time out of your schedule to have this discussion with the family members, as well as one of the abductees who could come back from North Korea to Japan.

And my sincere hope is that, through this event, as well as the press conference, I would like to encourage the entire world to know the simple reality when it comes to the abductions issue. As long as 40 years, there are those who have been suffering because of the loss of their loved ones as well as the family members. And this is the suffering that has caused in the abductions issue.

So I renew my determination to do my utmost to realize a day when those of the family members could hold their daughters and sons and their family members with their actual arms. And also, I’d like to reiterate my commitment to working very closely with President Trump and other world leaders toward resolving this abductions issue.

So once again, Mr. President and Madam First Lady, thank you very much.

END

2:39 P.M. JST

November 06, 2017
Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Abe of Japan Before Bilateral Meeting | Tokyo, Japan
Akasaka Palace
Tokyo, Japan
1:32 P.M. JST

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) So, over lunch, we had an in-depth discussion to cover various challenges of the international community, including the issue of North Korea.

So to build on the discussion that we had over lunch, I very much look forward to continuing our discussion, namely on the global affairs as well as our economic issues, and also our bilateral issues.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. It was indeed a good meeting, and mostly pertaining to trade, North Korea, and a couple of other subjects that we lightly touched on.

We’re making tremendous progress, I believe, on trade in particular, bringing the deficits down and having a very fair and equal trade. And I look forward to finishing up the discussions.

A lot of great work and great friendships have been built, and they will continue to be built. Thank you very much. Thank you.

END

1:34 P.M. JST

Video:

November 06, 2017
Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Abe of Japan in Joint Press Conference | Tokyo, Japan
Akasaka Palace
Tokyo, Japan
2:58 P.M. JST

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) Ladies and gentlemen, at the outset, may I begin by offering my condolence to the victims who lost their lives, as well as my sympathy to the people injured in the recent shooting incidents in Texas. I’d like to express my heartfelt solidarity to the people of the United States in this time of difficulty.

It was only one year ago — November, last year — that I met the President for the first time in the Trump Tower New York. Since then, I have had numerous opportunities to converse with the President on the margin of international meetings as well as countless talks on the phone. Indeed, how many hours of dialogue did we have? I believe that there has never been such close bonds intimately connecting the leaders of both nations as we do now in the history of Japan-U.S. alliance of more than half a century.

In particular, he received me with great hospitality last February on my visit to the U.S. at his villa in Florida. It became my unforgettable memory that we were able to discuss a variety of global issues over so many hours, quite frankly including several rounds of golf.

And it is my particular delight that this time I’m able to welcome my dear friend, President Trump, and Madam Melania Trump, to Japan. This first trip of President Trump to Asia is a historic visit in the current regional situation, which is ever more tense. And his first nation to visit on his tour is Japan. This made this historic significance even greater.

In this way, two of us were able to show to the rest of the world the unshakable Japan-U.S. alliance. Thank you, Donald.

For the last two days, I was able to have an in-depth discussion with Donald on a plethora of issues that the international community is faced with. In the discussion, overwhelming importance was occupied by the North Korean issue. We were in complete agreement as to the measures to be taken upon the analysis of the latest situation of North Korea giving a good amount of time.

Japan consistently supports the position of President Trump when he says that all options are on the table. Through the talks over two days, I once again strongly reaffirmed that Japan and U.S. are 100 percent together.

For more than 20-some years, the international community attempted dialogue with North Korea. At the time of framework agreement of 1994 and at the Six-Party Agreement of 2006, North Korea committed in abandoning their nuclear program. But each time, the promise was broken, which resulted in North Korea buying time for their nuclear and missile development while we were making efforts for dialogue.

There is no point in the dialogue for the sake of dialogue with North Korea. Now is the time not for dialogue but for applying maximum level of pressure on North Korea.

We completely agreed that, in order to make North Korea change their policy, Japan and U.S. must take leadership in closely collaborating with the international community so that we can enhance the pressure to the maximum level over North Korea through all possible means.

I agree with President Trump that we welcome China strengthening her pressure over North Korea, and it is incumbent upon China to play even greater roles to let North Korea relinquish their nuclear and missile development.

We reaffirmed once again the importance of further advancing trilateral cooperation among Japan, U.S., and the Republic of Korea — a country President Trump will visit tomorrow.

Before this press conference, President and Mrs. Trump were good enough to meet with the members of the families of abductees. I would like to render my heartfelt gratitude for their listening so intently to what the family members had to tell them.

Until the day when all the families of the abductees embrace their loved ones in their own arms — until that day, my mission is not complete. I’m sure that the families — I have renewed my resolve to work in full force to seek the resolution of this issue. I have decided to take our own additional sanction measures in our effort to seek the solution of the nuclear missile and the most important abduction issues of North Korea.

Tomorrow, there will be a decision of freezing assets of 35 North Korean entities and individuals. Going forward, Japan and U.S. will continue to cooperation closely for the early resolution of the North Korean issue.

I also discussed bilateral economic issues with President Trump. We welcomed that in the second meeting of Japan-U.S. Economic Dialogue held last month between Deputy Prime Minister Aso and Vice President Pence. The importance of strengthening bilateral economic trade and investment relations was confirmed.

And we will go deeper into our dialogue. We agreed that we will continue our discussion in order to invigorate more the bilateral trade and investment, and enhance our cooperation in areas of law enforcement, energy, infrastructure, among others.

Japan and the U.S. are the two global economic leaders, occupying 30 percent of the global economy, sharing common values such as freedom and fairness. The significance of Japan-U.S. alliance is not limited on security front alone. In the economic field, it greatly contributes to the prosperity of the region and the world.

I, together with President Trump, shall work not only in the field of bilateral trade, but also lead in the high-standard rulemaking in trade and investment broadly in the Asia Pacific region. I am determined to see to it so that both Japan and U.S. strongly lead the regional and, eventually, the global economic growth by our cumulative efforts in creating fair and effective economic order in this region.

With the President, I discussed APEC and East Asia Summit meetings that we will going after this. Indo-Pacific region, covering the vast area of Asia Pacific through the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and Africa, is the growth center of the world, with more than half of the world population. The maintenance and enhancement of the maritime order that is free and open is critically important for the peace and prosperity of this region, and we concurred to strengthen our cooperation toward realizing free and open Indo-Pacific.

Under the unwavering Japan-U.S. alliance, I shall play a leadership role for the peace and prosperity of this region, hand -in-hand with President Trump. For the last two days, I had indeed very serious discussions with President Trump. I also had an opportunity to play golf with our top pro, Hideki Matsuyama, yesterday. Indeed the match was a neck-and-neck competition, in my opinion. What was the reality? I hope that Mr. Trump will give his evaluation.

The dinner where Mrs. Trump joined was in such a truly relaxed atmosphere that we almost forgot how time flew. I am greatly very much satisfied. I hope that they enjoyed the banquet later on, by all means.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much, President Trump. The floor is yours.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, thank you very much, Shinzo. And this has been a truly enjoyable trip and one where we’re accomplishing a lot.

And I agree with you that our relationship is extraordinary. And I agree with you also that there has never been such a close relationship between the leaders of two countries — these two countries, Japan and the United States. So it’s been great to be with you, and we’ll be spending a lot of time with you over the years.

Melania and I are deeply grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received in your remarkable country. And that’s what it is — it is a remarkable country. This is a land of incredible history, culture, tradition, and spirit.

First, let me congratulate you on your great success in the recent elections. You won very big and very easily, and I’m not at all surprised. We both share in common, really, a deep loyalty to our citizens and a deep faith in the destiny of our people and also our people and our countries working together.

I also want to take a moment to continue sending our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences to the victims of the horrific assault on a church in a beautiful area — so sad — Sutherland Springs, Texas. Such a beautiful, wonderful area with incredible people. Who would ever think a thing like this could happen?

So I want to send my condolences, the condolences of our First Lady. In tragic times, Americans always pull together. We are always strongest when we are unified. To the wounded and the families of the victims, all of America is praying for you, supporting you, and grieving alongside of you.

Prime Minister, I want to thank you and the people of Japan for your friendship. We have so many great things that we can accomplish together, and we are in the process of accomplishing those things.

It was a thrill for my daughter, Ivanka, to be able to participate in the World Assembly for Women and promote women entrepreneurship. Side-by-side, our two nations are advancing polices to empower women and harness the full potential of our great economies.

You were the first foreign leader to visit me shortly after my election, and now it is my pleasure to join you in your homeland to further strengthen the historic ties between our two great nations.

As you know, this is my first visit to the Indo-Pacific region as President — been here before — but as President, this has been my first and it is my first. And I am thrilled that my first stop was with you, great friend.

We’re going to other countries where I have also developed some great friendships, and we’re going to work to straighten a lot of things out, including trade, including military problems. We have a lot of things to work on. But this is a real honor to be with you, Shinzo.

Japan is a very special place. The Japanese people are thriving, your cities are vibrant, and you’ve built one of the world’s most powerful economies. I don’t know if it’s as good as ours. I think not. Okay? And we’re going to try and keep it that way, but you’ll be second.

And yet, for all of its modern splendor, the people of Japan maintain a profound respect for their rich culture, heritage, and traditions. Honoring the past, even as you blaze new trails into the future — very, very strongly looking into the future — is Japan.

You demonstrate every day that the respect for history and heritage is the true foundation for progress. Our nations share an enduring bond. America and Japan face many challenges, many opportunities. There are many things we face, but we will be facing them together, in friendship and as allies.

Most importantly, we’re working to counter the dangerous aggressions of the regime in North Korea. The regime-continued development of its unlawful weapons programs, including its illegal nuclear test and outrageous launches of ballistic missiles directly over Japanese territory, are a threat to the civilized world and international peace and stability.

We will not stand for that. The era of strategic patience is over. Some people said that my rhetoric is very strong, but look what’s happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years. Look where we are right now.

Prime Minister Abe has also shared with me the tragic stories of Japanese young people who North Korea has abducted over the years. Together, we met with the parents of Megumi Yokota who was abducted as a young girl in 1977. No child should ever be subjected to such cruelty. No parent should ever have to endure 40 years of heartbreak.

We also had a young wonderful man in our country, Otto Warmbier. We all know the story of Otto; it’s a horrible story, a sad story. And we can’t let that happen. Cannot let that happen.

The United States of America stands in solidarity with the people of Japan against the North Korean menace. History has proven over and over that strong and free nations will always prevail over tyrants who oppress their people.

Our powerful and enduring U.S.-Japan alliance includes more than 50,000 members of the United States military stationed right here in Japan. In addition to that, we have 33,000 stationed in South Korea. American and Japanese military personnel train together, work together, and will stand together to defend the security and sovereignty of both of our countries.

I want to thank the entire Japanese people for acting as such gracious hosts and strong partners for our men and women in the armed forces.

America is also committed to improving our economic relationship with Japan. As President of the United States, I am committed to achieving a fair, free, and reciprocal trading relationship. We seek equal and reliable access for American exports to Japan’s markets in order to eliminate our chronic trade imbalances and deficits with Japan. We’re working on that — something we’ve all been working on very hard from the very beginning of our meetings.

As we continue to pursue closer economic ties, I believe it will create new and exciting opportunities to achieve greater prosperity in both of our nations and to advance new frontiers in science, medicine, and technology. The United States respects and honors Japan’s heritage and admires your deep well of perseverance.

I appreciate very much your acknowledging and stating the fact that the United States economy has done so well since our election on November 8th. Close to 200 million jobs. The highest stock market in our history. So many different things are happening for the better, including the cutting of massive amounts of regulation, which is one of the reasons that the market is reacting the way it’s reacting.

This mutual respect for culture and sovereignty will continue to bring our nations closer and closer together, and open up new avenues of cooperation and success.

Mr. Prime Minister, thank you again for inviting me today and for opening the arms of your majestic country to our American delegation, all of whom are right now in this room. I look forward to working side by side with you in friendship. We will have success like rarely seen between two countries — Japan and the United States of America, two very, very special places.

Thank you for having us. Thank you very much.

Q (As interpreted.) (Inaudible) from NHK. This is a question to Mr. Abe. Prime Minister and President Trump have agreed on maximizing the pressure toward the relinquishing of nuclear development by North Korea. Mr. Trump is going to Korea and China, and then there is going to be an APEC Leaders meeting. So, Mr. Abe, what is your idea about the significance of this bilateral summit meeting?

On the other hand, North Korea is still fixing its attitude, not responding to the relinquishing of nuclear development. What is necessary in order to avoid any accidental military confrontation?

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) While Japan-U.S. alliance being the foundation of the regional peace and prosperity, precisely when Japan-U.S. partners strongly, the peace of this region becomes unshakeable. From that perspective, I consider that this time we were able to reaffirm strong bonds and ties between Japan and the United States on this opportunity of the visit of President Trump. This was quite significant for the regional peace.

On the North Korean situation, between President Trump and myself, we confirmed that we are together 100 percent. We will enhance the pressure that the entire international community exercises over North Korea to the maximum extent by both Japan and the United States collaborating and working toward China and Russia.

No one likes conflicts. I don’t like it; Mr. Trump neither. But North Korea continues its provocation against the international community, so we need to collaborate in the international community so that they change their policy. We must exercise our pressure.

And from the North Korea, we will change our policy, so please come to talk to us. I think this is what is most important that we expect. And we have a complete agreement with President Trump. And together with many countries, I’m sure that we share in the same thinking.

Also, the free and open maritime order based upon the rule of law is a foundation of the stability and prosperity of the international community. This time around, as the first leg of his tour in Asia, President and I were able to reaffirm that both countries will make efforts looking toward the Indo-Pacific, which is free and open — very significant. There will be APEC Leaders Meeting and EAS Summit Meeting. In these meetings, I’d like to take leadership in driving this kind of discussion.

So, free and open Indo-Pacific strategy — if any country would agree with this strategy, with whatever country we can collaborate for the implementation of this strategy. So we will continue to have partnership between Japan and the United States so that we can contribute jointly to the peace and stability of the region.

MS. SANDERS: For the United States’ first question, we’ll go to Steve Holland, from Reuters.

Q Thank you, sir. In response to the Texas shooting, what policies would you support to reduce these violent actions? Is gun control the answer?

And secondly, you spoke yesterday about the warmth of the North Korean people. What’s your message to their leader, Kim Jong-un, as you prepare to head to South Korea tomorrow?

And if I could ask the Prime Minister a question as well: Could you respond to what the President said this morning — that trade is not free and reciprocal with the United States? Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, as far as the North Korean people are concerned, Steve, I think that these are great people. They’re under a very repressive regime, and I really think that, ultimately — I can tell you this — that I hope it all works out. It would be better for everybody. Certainly would be better for North Korea, but it would be better for everybody. So we hope that’s going to take place.

As far as your second question, which is really the first part of your question, I think that mental health is your problem here. This was a very — based on preliminary reports — very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries.

But this isn’t a guns situation. I mean, we could go into it, but it’s a little bit soon to go into it. But, fortunately, somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction, otherwise it would have been — as bad it was, it would have been much worse.

But this is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event. These are great people, and a very, very sad event. But that’s the way I view it. Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) With President Trump, trade and economic matters — bilateral issues — we did discuss, on the economic matter, how U.S. and Japanese economies should be. There is dialogue going on between Mr. Aso and Mr. Pence. There were two meetings already.

So on the question of economy, together with President Trump, not only regarding bilateral trade, we would like to see the entire region of Asia Pacific — high-standard rulemaking is something that we want to pursue. So with both countries in this region, we will make efforts to create an economic order which is fair and effective so that, regarding the both economies mutually, we would like to see the mutual development of both economies

So in the United States, already since the start of Trump administration, partly thanks to the Japanese investment, 17,000 jobs have been created in the United States. So all countries in the world, vis-à-vis the United States, they make investment. But Japanese investment ranks, in terms of job creation. So the economic relations between the two countries may develop further, thereby creating jobs, thereby growing the economy.

So in creating both countries’ economies — Aso-Pence Economic Dialogue Framework would be quite relevant, and we’d like to see good outcome from that dialogue.

We will go back to the Japanese press for questions. Yes, please.

Q I have a question to President Trump. You met with the family members of abductees and you met with Hitomi Soga, actual abductee. How can you comment on your meeting with them? To North Korea, is there a possibility of U.S. military action? Suppose that the U.S. decides to go on it, the abductees’ rescue — how do you think about it once the military action is to be imminent?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I think it’s very sad. I look at what’s happened, and it’s a very, very sad thing. Who has ever heard of anything like this? Abducted by a hostile country for purposes of language, for purposes of — could be any number of another reasons. We’ll see what happens in terms of the ultimate conclusion.

But I did put it in my speech at the United Nations, and many people in Japan were really thrilled that I did because a lot of people thought that the folks we’re talking about were forgotten about. Like I say, the “forgotten people” — where they were, maybe they’re forgotten people. But I can tell you, your great Prime Minister did not forget. He didn’t forget at all.

So we’ll work together and see if we can do something. Now the spotlight is on and perhaps we can have some very good luck, and perhaps the regime itself would send them back. I think it would be a tremendous signal if Kim Jong-un would send them back. If he would send them back, that would be the start of something — I think, would be just something very special if they would do that.

But I spoke with people who were devastated, and they’ve been devastated for many years. They think they’re alive, but they don’t know. Probably makes it even tougher that way. But we’ll see what happens. Thank you.

MS. SANDERS: Thank you. The second question from the United States — Mark Landler, New York Times.

Q Thank you very much. My first question is to President Trump. Mr. President, you’ve spent the last two days reaffirming the U.S.-Japan alliance, and you’ve begun sketching out this vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. But in two days, you’re going to travel to China, a country that is neither free nor open. So my question is, how can the U.S. be a force for freedom and openness in this region without inevitably coming into conflict with China?

And then, to the Prime Minister. Mr. Prime Minister, the President has spoken on many occasions in the past about hoping to see the Japanese take a strong role in their own defense. He’d like to sell Japan military equipment, and there have been press reports that the President was disappointed that the Japanese didn’t shoot the North Korean missile out of the sky — the one that was shot over Hokkaido. I’m wondering, did this subject come up? And what message did you have for the President about the role you’d like to see Japan take in its defense?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you, Mark. I will say, if I could just take a piece of the Prime Minister’s answer — he will shoot them out of the sky when he completes the purchase of lots of additional military equipment from the United States. He will easily shoot them out of the sky, just like we shot something out of the sky the other day in Saudi Arabia, as you saw. And that was a very rapidly moving missile shot out of the sky. That was a needle in the sky, and it was hit immediately and exploded without damage.

So one of the things, I think, that’s very important is that the Prime Minister of Japan is going to be purchasing massive amounts of military equipment, as he should. And we make the best military equipment, by far. He’ll be purchasing it from the United States. Whether it’s the F-35 fighter, which is the greatest in the world — total stealth — or whether it’s missiles of many different kinds, it’s a lot of jobs for us and a lot of safety for Japan and other countries that are likewise purchasing a lot of military equipment from us that, frankly, a year ago and two years ago were not.

As far as China is concerned, my relationship, as you know, with President Xi is also excellent. I like him a lot. I consider him a friend. He considers me a friend. With that being said, he represents China; I represent the United States. His views are different on things, but they’re pretty similar on trade.

The problem we have with China is that for decades they’ve been — you know, it’s been a very unfair — let me be very kind to previous administrations — it’s been a very unfair trade situation. Our trade deficit is massive. It’s hundreds of billions of dollars a year, anywhere from $350 billion to $504 billion, and that doesn’t include intellectual property. And we’ve already started discussions with China because it has to come down. It has to come down. And that has to do with, really, free trade, fair trade, or reciprocal trade.

And frankly, I like reciprocal the best of the group. Because when you explain to somebody that you’re going to charge tariffs in order to equalize, or you’re going to do other things — some people that don’t get it, they don’t like to hear that. But when you say it’s going to be reciprocal — that we’re going to charge the same as they’re charging us — the people that don’t want a 5 percent or a 10 percent tariff say, oh, reciprocal is fair — and that could be 100 percent. So it’s much more, Mark, understandable when you talk about reciprocal.

And reciprocal trade is very important to me. We have many countries, not just China or Japan, or so many others that we see. I mean, we have one country that charges us 100 percent tax if we sell things into that country, and yet when they sell the same product into our country, we charge them nothing. Now, I’ve been against that for a long time, and you will be seeing, we do things about it

Now, it also takes a period of time to do that, because, as you know, you have statutory limitations in time. You have to put out notices. You have to wait 90 days before you can put out the next, and then you have to wait another 120 days, and then a 30-day. Now, much of this has already been caught and caught up. Some of it was unnecessary, statutorily.

But you will be seeing things of countries that have been treating the United States and the United States worker and companies — because I view the companies not as a company, I view it as an extension of the worker — but that have been treating our companies, our country, and our workers very unfairly.

You will be seeing that the United States will take very, very strong action. It’s already started, but most of the legal foundation has now been done. And you’re going to see a very big difference, and it’s going to happen very soon. Because the United States, by many countries, has been treated very, very unfairly when it comes to trade.

Thank you very much.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) Regarding Japan defense equipment, a lot of them we purchase from the United States. The North Korean situation becoming very tough; the Asia Pacific security situation becoming very tough. We qualitatively and quantitatively, we have to enhance our defense capability. As the President mentioned, F-35A is a case in point. SM-3 Block IIA is another plan for purchase from the United States. Aegis vessels — the quality and the quantity must be enhanced. In that process, we will be buying more from the United States. That is what I’m thinking.

Now, North Korea: North Korea launched missiles. Immediately after that, we traced them; we were able to grasp and trace where they were going. Missile defense is something which is based upon the cooperation between Japan and the United States. Missile defense system is a cooperation between the two countries for the intercepting and shooting down. If it is necessary, of course, we will do that — if it is necessary. But in doing so, U.S. and Japan will closely coordinate our actions. Thank you.

Thank you very much. With this, we will end the joint press conference by the two leaders of Japan and the United States. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen of the press.

END

3:35 P.M. JST

November 06, 2017
Remarks by President Trump to U.S. and Japanese Business Leaders | Tokyo, Japan
U.S. Ambassador’s Residence
Tokyo, Japan
9:18 A.M. JST

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, Bill. Please, sit down. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador, for that wonderful introduction, I guess. Right? (Laughter.) That was good with me. And thank you for representing, Bill, so well the interests of the American people in Japan and the incredible relationship that you have with Japan. We really appreciate it. You’re doing a fantastic job. We very much appreciate it. Thank you.

Let me begin today by addressing the horrific shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families of today’s horrible and murderous attack. This act of evil occurred as the victims and their families were in their place of sacred worship. We cannot put into words the pain and grief we all feel, and we cannot begin to imagine the suffering of those who lost the ones they so dearly loved.

Our hearts are broken, but in dark times — and these are dark times — such as these, Americans do what they do best: We pull together. We join hands, we lock arms, and through the tears and through the sadness, we stand strong — oh, so strong.

My administration will provide its full support to the great state of Texas and all local authorities investigating this horrible crime. I’ve spoken just a few minutes ago with Governor Abbott, and we offer our thanks to the first responders, the FBI, all of the many people involved, both federal and otherwise. Ultimately, they stopped the suspect and rendered immediate lifesaving aid to certain victims of the shooting.

I will continue to follow the developments closely. All of America is praying to God to help the wounded and the families of the victims. We will never, ever leave their side — ever.

With that being said, we are here today in Japan with one of our closest and most cherished allies, through bad times and good times, through rain and through shine. I want to thank Secretary Tillerson — Rex — who has done a tremendous job of leading the dedicated men and women of the Department of State here in Japan and around the world.

The splendor and beauty of Japan has left a lasting impression on me and my family. And I want to thank the First Lady for being with us, Melania. Please stand. (Applause.) She’s become a very, very popular First Lady, I can tell you that. Whenever I speak, they have hundreds of signs out in the audience. We love our First Lady, which is so true. Thank you.

And our warmest admiration for this ancient culture. It’s an ancient culture and its customs are ancient, and it’s terrific. Over the weekend, Ivanka attended the World Assembly for Women with Prime Minister Abe, who I was with all day yesterday. I applaud the Prime Minister — and he’s a terrific person, by the way — for his dedication to advancing women in the workforce. And I share his commitment to empowering women in business and in all professions.

This morning, I am pleased to have an opportunity to discuss how we can strengthen and improve the economic ties between the United States and Japan. And I have to say, for the last many decades, Japan has been winning. You do know that.

For the, actually, last 70 years, cooperation between our two countries has helped us to pioneer incredible advances in commerce, in science, medicine, and technology. Our students study together, our scholars exchange ideas, and business leaders like you work together to invest in a better, more prosperous future for both of our nations.

I know many of the leaders in this room have helped build Japan into the center for commerce and innovation that it is today. And I want to commend you for your incredible achievements in so many areas. And I looked at a list of the people in the room — they are truly the leaders of industry. I congratulate you all. Names that, in many cases, I haven’t met, but I know you well, from reading about you on the covers of every business magazine and sometimes well beyond the business magazines. So, congratulations. Fantastic job you’ve done in building some of the greatest companies in the world. And it’s an honor to be working with you.

We want to thank and make the United States for the people in this room, and well beyond this room, the most attractive place for you to hire, invest, and to grow. That’s why we are very, very substantially lowering our taxes. The United States is one of the highest-taxed nations in the world. But it’s also a market like no other; by far, the biggest market in the world.

Its numbers are phenomenal over the last — since November 8th, Election Day. Our unemployment is at a 17-year low. We’ve gotten almost 2 million more people in the workforce in just that short period of time. I’ve reduced regulations terrifically, frankly, if I do say so myself — but at a level that nobody else has ever done. I’ve done more in nine months in terms of the reduction of regulations than any President has done in a full term, and it’s not even close. And if it were close, they will let you know about it tomorrow morning, believe me. They will tell you about it, but it’s not even close.

The stock market reached an all-time high on Friday, and that’s the 61st, I believe — something around that number — 61st time that’s happened. So we have a lot of happy people in this room because your stocks are right in there. And look at you, you’re smiling. Very happy. (Laughter.) What company? What company?

PARTICIPANT: ANA.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, that’s another big one. That’s a great company. Are you happy? You happy with the job?

PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Good. Come around, give me your hand. (Applause.) That is some company, too. Congratulations, you’ve done a great job.

But it’s reached an all-time high. I believe it’s maybe in the neighborhood of 61 times during the course of — from November 8. And so we’re honored by that. GDP growth, very importantly, we hit 3.2 last quarter — 3.2 And this time we hit 3, and we figure a good point — I would say a good solid point for hurricanes. We had four horrific hurricanes, as everybody knows, and did tremendous damage to Texas and Florida and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and Louisiana, and even Alabama was affected, and other places — Georgia.

And we figured at least a point. So I was going to close my eyes a little bit when the numbers came out. And the number came out at 3. That would mean that it would have been 4. And GDP at 4 was unthinkable, actually unthinkable, when I was running. And I said we could do it. They were saying maybe you could hit 2, 2.5. My first quarter was 1. We were in the ones. And so we’re at 3, and now 3.2. And again, without the hurricanes, I think we would have been 4 or very close to 4. So that’s GDP of 4. That was not something that people thought of in the first three or four years, and we’ve already hit it. And we will continue to.

On regulations, while I’ve reduced regulations terrifically. It would take, as an example, to build a highway — it would take 17 to 20 years to get approvals. And at the end of 20th year, in many cases, they voted it down. Do you approve? No. So they wasted tens of millions of dollars. There’s a highway in Maryland where it took exactly 17 years. And the original numbers were very little, and it ended up costing hundreds of millions of dollars for a very small, short highway. And we can’t have that.

So we’re trying to bring that number down from — anywhere from 13 to 20 years. We’re trying to bring it down to one year. You want to build a road? You want to build a highway? You want to build a school? You want to build a factory — most importantly, to the folks in this room — or a plant? You’re going to have your approvals very, very quickly.

Now, you may be rejected quickly, too. But that’s okay. If you’re rejected quickly — you don’t want to be rejected at the end of the 17th year. I approved a power plant, which has been under consideration for 11 years, and they gave up, and I approved it. And it’s a $7 billion plant. And the state wanted it and the local community wanted it, but they had environmental restrictions. And now it’s being built.

The Dakota Access Pipeline and, as you know, the Keystone Pipeline, that was rejected by the previous administration. The Keystone Pipeline was dead. And the Dakota Access Pipeline was in even in worse shape because they built it but they weren’t allowed to hook it up. So I consider not starting even better than that. And in my first week, I approved both. It’s 42,000 jobs. The Dakota is already open and Keystone is starting; it’s actually already started. And that was done in the first week — got it approved.

And we have many other things like that. I could stand here all day and tell you additional events that we’ve done that create jobs and are good for our country, not bad for our country. When you want to build your auto plants, you will have your approvals almost immediately. When you want to expand your plants, you will have your approvals almost immediately. And in the room, we have a couple of the great folks from two of the biggest auto companies in the world that are building new plants and doing expansions of other plants. And you know who you are, and I want to just thank you very much. I want to thank you.

I also want to recognize the business leaders in the room whose confidence in the United States — they’ve been creating jobs — you have such confidence in the United States, and you’ve been creating jobs for our country for a long, long time. Several Japanese automobile industry firms have been really doing a job. And we love it when you build cars — if you’re a Japanese firm, we love it — try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over. Is that possible to ask? That’s not rude. Is that rude? I don’t think so. (Laughter.) If you could build them. But I must say, Toyota and Mazda — where are you? Are you here, anybody? Toyota? Mazda? I thought so. Oh, I thought that was you. That’s big stuff. Congratulations. Come on, let me shake your hand. (Applause.) They’re going to invest $1.6 billion in building a new manufacturing plant, which will create as many as 4,000 new jobs in the United States. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. (Applause.)

And we’re very pleased that just last month, Denso announced that it will invest $1 billion to expand its activities in Tennessee, a great state — great state —

AMBASSADOR HAGERTY: (Inaudible) right here, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I know, I’m going to introduce him now. And create over 1,000 new jobs. And I do believe that’s you — another famous man. Come here. (Applause.) Great state. You’re going to love being there.

And again, it’s really terrific. You watch, it’s going to be — it’s going to go so smoothly. And the process is a much easier process now. So, thank you. Thank you both very much.

I want to thank these companies, but I want to thank all of the companies that are coming in. Many companies have announced now that they’re coming into the United States to do plants, to do factories, to move. You saw Broadcom is coming in — top 100 company — they announced on Thursday from the Oval Office. Anytime you’d like to expand a second — see, I don’t have to do that now because you’ve already announced, so I don’t have to bother. But if you do a little more expansion, we’ll do it from the Oval Office, you two, all right? (Laughter.)

But we just did that announcement from the Oval Office. And Foxconn is coming in with a massive plant that is going to be in Wisconsin. And that was very exciting. They do the Apple iPhones, and it’s going to be a tremendous success.

But we have to do more. The United States has suffered massive trade deficits with Japan for many, many years. Almost $70 billion annually. Seventy billion. Many millions of cars are sold by Japan into the United States, whereas virtually no cars go from the United States into Japan, and our car industry is doing very well and our product is fantastic. So we’ll have to negotiate that out, and we’ll do it in a very friendly way, and I know it’s going to be a successful negotiation.

And one thing I can say — that we make the greatest military equipment in the world. There’s nothing close. And the Prime Minister is ordering a lot of military equipment, as he should be — as he should be with what’s happening with one of your neighbors. So that is happening.

We had a case yesterday, as you know, where a missile was shot into Saudi Arabia, and their missile system defense — took the missile right out of the air, blew it up. Incredible talent, incredible technology that we have. Incredible. The accuracy that you can stop something like that, it’s like a needle in the air going very, very fast. And, just, we make incredible equipment, whether it’s the planes, the missiles — anything you can think about. There’s nobody even close. So we’re going to be doing a lot of business with many countries on defense.

We want fair and open trade. But right now, our trade with Japan is not fair and it’s not open, but I know it will be, soon. We want free and reciprocal trade, but right now our trade with Japan is not free and it’s not reciprocal. And I know it will be. And we’ve started the process, and it’s gone on for a long time, but I know that we will be able to come up with trade deals and trade concepts that are going to be fair to both countries, and, actually, I think will actually be better for both countries. And I have no doubt that it will be done in a quick and very friendly manner.

I’m very optimistic about the future of our economic partnership. We are proud, for instance, that, after the United States, Japan is the largest owner of Boeing aircraft. Greatest commercial aircraft in the world. (Applause.) Is Boeing here? Boeing?

PARTICIPANT: Right there, for Boeing —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, look at my guy. Stand up. Boy, have I made him — (applause) — come, come.

(Inaudible.) You know, Melania had some of your stock. You know what happened? When I won, she was forced to sell it. (Laughter.) Fantastic. Great job you’re doing. And I do love the F-18 also. I love the F-18.

So we’re joined this morning also by Ray Washburne. Where’s Ray? Stand up. What are you doing in the back of the room like that, Ray? Since when have you become shy? (Applause.) Ray was with us from the beginning. Right from the day I announced, Ray felt very strongly about it. And Ray is now the CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, or OPIC, and Ray is working with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to invest in bold, new infrastructure projects. This is a major development that will advance our shared interests in the region.

I want to thank you for doing such a great job. From day one, the day I met you — perfect job. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

And in partnership with the United States, the sovereign nations of the Indo-Pacific will work together to achieve a future of security, prosperity, and peace. We will have more trade than anybody ever thought of under TPP, that I can tell you. TPP was not the right idea. Probably some of you in this room disagree, but ultimately I’ll be proven to be right. We will have much bigger trade with the way we’re doing it right now, and it will be a much less complex situation.

We cherish the friendship between the United States and Japan. And I cherish my friendship with Prime Minister Abe. We welcome more Japanese investments into the United States. We believe that a balanced economic partnership will unlock new frontiers for discovery, unleash new prosperity for our citizens, and improve the lives of millions and millions of people all around the world.

We’re grateful for everything you do to promote opportunity in both Japan and the United States. We look forward to many years of cooperation, innovation, collaboration, and unbelievable trade — unbelievable trade. It’s happening and it’s going to happen.

So I want to thank everybody for being here today. Again, you are the rock stars of business. Amazing people. I hope your family recognize how important you are. Oftentimes, they don’t. Right? (Laughter.) But you really are. You’re the rock stars of business, and it’s an honor to be with you. And I think as soon as the media leaves, we’ll do some question and answers. Okay?

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much everybody. (Applause.)

END

9:39 A.M. JST

November 06, 2017
Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Abe of Japan at State Dinner | Tokyo, Japan
Akasaka Palace
Tokyo, Japan
7:31 P.M. JST

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As interpreted.) Good evening, everyone. My name is Shinzo Abe. I’m extremely delighted to host tonight’s banquet here at the State Guest House in honor of the very first visit to Japan by my dear friend, President Trump, and Madam First Lady, Ms. Melania Trump.

Yesterday’s golf diplomacy between Donald and me attracted so much attention, and we actually made everything public, except for the score. And, through golf, we could demonstrate to the world how strong the bond is between Japan and the United States.

But Donald and I are not the first to promote this unique golf diplomacy. Just 60 years ago, my grandfather, Prime Minister Kishi, and President Eisenhower are the ones who initiated this tradition. And after the golf match, President Eisenhower shared two lessons with my grandfather. One, once you become a President of the United States, you need to be at a table with a group of people whom you don’t like to hang out. Second, when it comes to playing golf, you can play golf only with those who you really, really like to hang out.

But speaking of my relationship with President Trump, that is not enough. If I may add another lesson to the legacy of Prime Minister Kishi and President Eisenhower, I would say it like this: When you play golf with someone not just once, but for two times, the person must be your favorite guy.

So, yesterday, we had the pleasure of playing golf together with Mr. Hideki Matsuyama. And, tonight, we are so honored to have the participation of Mr. Isao Aoki, who is a pioneer in Japanese golf. (Applause.)

Even during the time that played golf with President Trump, the President and I were talking about Mr. Aoki. It is all about how his putting that was something that the entire world were mesmerized. And Donald told me as follows: Mr. Aoki’s putting was just like super, super artistic. But you should never try to do the same, because that is the only thing that Mr. Aoki can only do, and you will not be able to do that. So next time we play golf together, I would love to have Mr. Aoki to join us and enjoy the time that I will spend with Mr. Trump.

Speaking of the First Ladies, I understand that my wife Akie and Madam First Lady had a chance to try Japanese calligraphy. Each wrote one Chinese character, or kanji: “hei” by Madam First Lady, which means being smooth and calm; and “wa” by my wife Akie, which stands for harmony. And when combined, these two letters literally mean “peace.” And I think their wonderful joint work represents our alliance very nicely.

Under our alliance, Japan and the United States work hand-in-hand to contribute to regional and global peace.

For two days, President Trump and I spent many, many hours together, and had an in-depth discussion on various global challenges. And I’m particularly grateful for President Trump and Madam First Lady, who kindly spent their time with a former abductee and the family members of those who had been abducted by North Korea.

And it’s been only one year since I first saw President Trump in New York City. And looking back the over the half-century history of Japan-U.S. alliance, we have never seen two leaders of Japan and the United States forging as close relationship as ours and as strong bond in ours in just one year.

Of course, I’m very proud of my relationship with President Trump, but we are not the only ones who have supported this invaluable friendship between Japan and the United States. And on this occasion, I would like to acknowledge tremendous efforts by leaders from various fields, including political, business, and cultural leaders who are here today.

In honor of such contribution to our invaluable friendship, I invited many distinguished guests who have been making every effort to deepen our friendship. And I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation and also ask for further support for the development of our bilateral relationship.

Last but not least, let me share with you my honest impression about President Trump’s visit to Japan this time. As I said, this was the very first visit by President Trump and it was indeed a historic visit. And I do hope that you will enjoy your last night in Tokyo as you wish. And also, I sincerely hope that you will have a really successful trip to Asia this time, which started here in Japan.

So with that, I now would like to propose a toast wishing all the best to President Trump and Madam First Lady, and also wishing for the further development of the friendship between Japan and the United States.

(A toast is offered.) (Applause.)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Prime Minister and Mrs. Abe, this has been a really wonderful two days. We have to spend more time together because I have enjoyed every minute of it, even though he’s a very, very tough negotiator. And, Melania, a real friend of yours now is Mrs. Abe. And I know you enjoyed it with me. You enjoyed it in Florida and you enjoyed it here, and maybe even more so. But I want to thank you for the royal welcome.

And it was really a — very much a working holiday, even on the golf course. So we can call it a couple of days off, but it wasn’t. It was full work. Even as we played golf, all we did was talk about different things. (Laughter.) We better not go into it. But I have to tell you, we did, and we made a lot of progress on a lot of fronts.

I do want to congratulate Mr. Aoki. He was one of the great putters — probably still is. They say you never lose your putting. When you’re a great putter, you never lose your putting.

But I remember a specific tournament, believe it or not, because it was one of the best I ever saw. It was the greatest putting display that I ever saw. It was you and Jack Nicklaus. Was that the U.S. Open? The U.S. Open. And you would get up and sink a 30-footer. He’d get up and sink a 25-footer. And this went on for the whole back nine. And then, ultimately, Jack won by one stroke. I thought it was one of the greatest putting displays anybody has ever seen and there ever was. And I even know your putting stroke — very flat.

And I spoke yesterday with the great Matsuyama, who is doing great, right? He’s going to be a big star, and he’s going to be great. I don’t even know if he’s with us tonight. I don’t think he’s with us tonight. But he does want to get together in New York, and we’re going to get together. And even though I want to have a great interpreter, but he’s rapidly learning the language.

But I will tell you that it’s an honor to be with you because everyone in the world of golf talks about that one great afternoon. Just putt after putt, and it was really great. So congratulations. Great gentleman, great gentleman. (Applause.)

So my relationship with Shinzo got off to quite a rocky start because I never ran for office, and here I am. But I never ran, so I wasn’t very experienced. And after I had won, everybody was calling me from all over the world. I never knew we had so many countries. (Laughter.)

So I was now President-elect. But I didn’t know you were supposed to not see world leaders until after you were in office, which was January 20th. So you were just not supposed to because it was considered bad form. It was not a nice thing to do, and I understand that from the standpoint of the President whose place you were taking.

So you can only take so many calls from world leaders — because, you know, everybody was calling. But Japan, you take. And some others — we took Germany, we took Russia, we took China, we took — we took your Prime Minister.

So it’s November, and he said to me, “Congratulations on your victory, it was a great victory, I would like to see you. I would like to see you as soon as possible.” And I said, “Anytime you want, just come on in, don’t worry about it.” But I was referring to after January 20th. (Laughter.) So I said, don’t worry about it. Anytime you want, I look forward to seeing you. Just give us a call, no problem, anytime you want. And all of the sudden, I get a call from, actually, Japan press. And they said that our Prime Minister is going to New York to meet with the President-elect.

So the press is going crazy because the Prime Minister of Japan is coming to see me. I think it’s absolutely fine, but I didn’t really mean now. I meant some time in February, March, or April. Meaning, you have a very aggressive — very, very aggressive, strong, tough Prime Minister. That’s a good thing, by the way — not a bad thing. (Laughter.)

So then the New York media started calling me, and I was getting all sorts of signals from Hope and Sarah, in a different position, and everybody. And they’re going crazy. They’re saying, “You cannot see him. It’s so inappropriate. It looks bad.” I say, “What’s wrong?” They said, “It’s a bad thing to see him. You have to wait until after, in all fairness, Barack Obama leaves office.” And I said, “What do I do?” And they said, “Let’s call.”

So I called him, and he wasn’t there. He was on the airplane flying to New York. (Laughter.) And I said, “You know what? There’s no way he’s going to land and I’m not seeing him.”

So I saw him, and it worked out just fine. Do you agree with that? (Laughter.) And he actually brought me the most beautiful golf club I’ve ever seen. It was a driver that’s totally gold. Right? It’s gold. (Laughter.) And I looked at it — I said, “If I ever use this driver — me — to use that driver at a golf club, I will be laughed off every course I ever go onto.” But it is the most beautiful weapon I’ve ever seen, so I thank you for that.

But we had a great meeting. It lasted forever. It was a very long meeting in Trump Tower. And for some reason, from that moment on, we had a really — and developed a really great relationship. And here we are today and better than ever, and we’re going to work together. And it’s going to get more and more special, and we’re going to work out problems of Japan and problems of the United States. And it’s going to be something very, very special for both countries.

I just want to finish by saying that Melania and I today visited the palace. This is a beautiful, beautiful place. And we met two very beautiful people, the Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and the Empress, and spent a long time talking to them today. And there was a lot of love in that room for all of you people — I can tell you — from everyone from Japan. They love the people of Japan, they love this country dearly, and they have great, great respect for your Prime Minister. And they truly think that your Prime Minister did very, very well when he decided to marry — or she decided to marry him, Mrs. Abe. But they have great, great respect — I can tell you that.

And I just want to conclude by saying that our two great countries will have incredible friendship and incredible success for many centuries to come — not years, not decades, but for many centuries to come.

And again, it’s an honor to have you as my good friend, and I just want to thank you and Mrs. Abe. This is a very, very special two days. We will not forget, and we will be back soon. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

(A toast is offered.) (Applause.)

END

7:55 P.M. JST