[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 418 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 418
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 7, 2004
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance in history of the 150th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and
Japan
Whereas over the past 150 years, the United States and Japan have developed a
strong, multifaceted relationship based on shared democratic values and
mutual interest in Asian and global stability and development;
Whereas the bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan was
opened by a visit by Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in 1853, the goal
of which was to
convince Japan to establish commercial and diplomatic relations;
Whereas the first bilateral treaty between the 2 nations, the Treaty of Peace
and Amity between Japan and the United States, was signed by Commodore
Perry and Japanese representatives on March 31, 1854, in Yokohama,
Japan;
Whereas the Treaty of Peace and Amity signaled the end of Japan's long isolation
as a feudal society and set the stage for the Meiji Restoration and for
Japan's transformation into a modern industrial nation;
Whereas with the direct assistance of President Theodore Roosevelt, the
Portsmouth Peace Treaty was signed in 1905, ending the Russo-Japanese
War and earning President Roosevelt the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize;
Whereas as a symbol of friendship, Japan presented the United States with 3,020
cherry trees in 1912, which continue to blossom each year on the
National Mall in Washington, District of Columbia;
Whereas the people of the United States and Japan worked together after World
War II to reconstruct Japan and to ensure the post war emergence of
Japan as a beacon of democracy and economic liberalization in the Asia-
Pacific region;
Whereas the allied security relationship between the United States and Japan was
launched with the signing of the Security Treaty of 1951 and further
solidified with the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and
Security in 1960;
Whereas the United States and Japan, despite ongoing bilateral trade disputes,
have long sought to promote economic cooperation and an open global
trading system, and both nations serve as important and powerful markets
for each other with over $170,000,000,000 in bilateral trade in 2003;
Whereas the Government of Japan strongly condemned the terrorist attacks against
the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001, provided
logistical support to United States military operations against Al Qaeda
and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and has been a leading donor for the
relief and reconstruction of Afghanistan;
Whereas the Government of Japan enacted special legislation to allow the
deployment to Iraq of Japanese Self Defense Force personnel to carry out
humanitarian aid and reconstruction activities, and committed to
providing $5,000,000,000 in assistance to Iraq;
Whereas increased tourism and educational and business exchanges between the
people of Japan and the United States have dramatically increased mutual
appreciation of Japanese and American culture;
Whereas Japanese-American relations are further cemented by the enormous
contributions to American economic, political, and cultural life by
nearly 1,000,000 Japanese-Americans;
Whereas Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stated at the ceremony
commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Japan-United States
relationship that the bilateral friendship ``is as solid as it is
because our countries share fundamental values like freedom, democracy,
and free market economy . . . [w]e are a prime example to the world that
people of different races and beliefs can share the same values and be
true friends''; and
Whereas generations of American and Japanese leaders have steered the bilateral
relationship between the two nations from the humble beginnings of the
visit to Japan by Commodore Matthew Perry to the current status of Japan
as the strongest ally of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the importance in history of the 150th
anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States
and Japan; and
(2) calls for expanded political, economic, strategic, and
cultural ties between the Japanese and American people and
their respective governments.
Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 2004.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.