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総領事のヒューストン通信 |
天皇誕生日祝賀レセプションでの挨拶
2008年12月11日
在ヒューストン日本国総領事 大澤勉
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good evening. It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all here tonight as we celebrate the 75th birthday of the Emperor of Japan. His Majesty The Emperor was born on December 23rd, 1933, and ascended the throne in 1989.
I am delighted to see so many of you here. I hope I have a chance to speak with all of you. I assumed the post of Consul-General of Japan in Houston in September, 2007. Since then, I have kept myself busy and active in Houston, and I have also traveled to various places such as Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, El Paso, Lubbock, Tyler, and Oklahoma City, meeting with government officials, congressmen, business leaders, and Japanese-Americans. We have talked about the importance of the Japan-US relationship and agreed to further strengthen it.
Now, please allow me to briefly mention some of what the Japanese Government has done this year. From May 28 to 30, Japan hosted the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development. From July 7 to 9, Japan hosted the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit where world leaders discussed the world economy, environmental concerns, African development, and other pressing issues. In this summit, it was agreed that global warming was the most pressing issue, and the participants made a statement that the developed countries would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050.
Talking about 2008, I should also mention the current financial crisis. On November 15, President Bush hosted the G20 Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in WashingtonD.C. to tackle this crisis. Japanese Prime Minister Aso spearheaded Japan’s effort to restore confidence in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) resources by proposing to lend the fund up to 100 billion dollars. He also vigorously discussed regulatory measures for financial markets and called for across-the-board cooperation from all countries in the global economy. Just a week after the G20 Summit, APEC, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, meeting was held in Peru, and a lot of issues including the current financial crisis were discussed. Japan is slated to host APEC in 2010. With the United States hosting APEC in 2011, expectations are high among American businesses for an improved US-Asia business environment.
For the people of Texas, Oklahoma, and the entire United States, one of the most remarkable events this year was, of course, the Presidential election. On November 4, 2008, we witnessed the victory of Senator Barack Obama in the election for president of the United States. We heartily congratulate him on his historical win. Before the presidential election, Mr. Taro Aso became the new prime minister in Japan. I truly hope the new Japanese prime minister and the American President will be able to meet as soon as possible and work together and continue to further improve Japan-US relations. We believe that Prime Minister Aso and President-Elect Obama are kindred spirits in their desire to lead their nations and the world out of the current crisis.
Last but not least, I would like to thank you all once again for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us this evening. I wish everybody a very pleasant time. Thank you very much.