Noboru TakeshitaPrime Minister, Mrs. Takeshita, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, may I extend a very warm welcome to you, Prime Minister, to your wife and to the members of your delegation on this your first official visit to the United Kingdom as Prime Minister. We are delighted to have you here, and hope you have found your visit [end p1] successful.
Of course you are no stranger to us, but a familiar and welcome friend. You have attended almost as many Economic Summits as I have, and we always greatly admired and respected the wisdom of your contributions. I remember in particular the important part which you played at the London [end p2] Economic Summit in 1984.
Indeed, you have served as Japan's Finance Minister in no less than five Cabinets, which is a remarkable record. One result has been that, on your previous visits to London, you have always called at No. 11 Downing Street. Well, that's a very good address, but we are delighted that this time it is to [end p3] No. 10 Downing Street that we welcome you.
We know, too, of your many personal accomplishments. An expert in judo—a dexterity which, when applied to the mind, we all need at Parliamentary Question Time.
I understand that your university has just won the Japanese rugby club championship, [end p4] which will give you a special bond with Denis Thatchermy husband who takes more than a passing interest in that sport.
I am told that your favourite song starts with the words:
“I'll persist until I achieve my aim” .
That certainly gives us something in common. [end p5]
On a more serious note, Prime Minister, we also know of your attachment to the concept of furusato, which I think we would express as pride in one's native place and in the traditional virtues of home and family. That is a belief that we in this Government certainly share and support. You have also called for “enrichment of the spirit” as a counter-balance to the material things of our age, and that too [end p6] is very important, because again it puts the emphasis on the attitude of the individual rather than the state, and encourages him to use the manifold opportunities which greater prosperity creates.
Prime Minister, there are several very important aspects to your visit which I want to mention. [end p7]
First, it is a new chance for Japan and Britain to establish an excellent working relationship. We need to act together at the Economic Summit to try to ensure continued economic growth and therefore the expansion of trade. But for that to be successful, we need to have a good personal understanding, and I [end p8] am sure that your visit has created it.
Second, we also see your visit as representing your wish to build on the work done by your distinguished Yasuhiro Nakasonepredecessor—whom we very much respected—to strengthen bilateral relations between Britain and Japan. They have made very great progress—and not just on an official basis. [end p9] I would like to mention in particular how pleased we were to have His Highness Prince Hiro at Oxford, and what an excellent impression he made. We are now looking forward to welcoming His Highness Prince Aya who will start at St John's in October.
Third, we should clear up what we refer to as ‘unfinished business’, that is problems [end p10] such as the tax on whisky and seats on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. We have had a very full discussion of these problems and you have given me your personal commitment to achieving a satisfactory solution to them
Fourth, there is the wider aspect of our trade relations. [end p11] We in Britain have been accustomed since Elizabethan times to look outward. The days of Empire left our people used to buying products which come from every corner of the world. They expect those goods to be able to enter our country freely and without hindrance. They judge them not on place of origin, but on interest, merit and value for [end p12] money. And they find it hard to understand why that cannot be the case the world over. We recognise and welcome the fact that Japan is now importing more. But we would like to see it taken further still, to the point where it is as natural for your people to buy the best, whether it is made at home or imported from abroad, as it is for ours. [end p13]
And so we should increase our trade. British exports to Japan have grown fifty per cent in the last two years. I should like to set the objective of doubling them in the next three.
Fifth, we also very much welcome Japanese investment in Britain. That, too, has doubled in the last two [end p14] years, and we want to see it continue to grow. We have a very favourable experience of Japanese management, and I think your companies are pleased with what a British workforce can achieve. Taken together they represent an unbeatable combination; [end p15]
And sixth, we want to see private contacts of all kinds enlarged. We should have more links between our towns and cities—including your own prefecture of Shimane. I would like to see many more British people learn Japanese. And we should make full use of the United Kingdom-Japan 2000 Group, some of whose British members are here tonight. [end p16] I have always made a point of seeing the Group when it meets in the United Kingdom, and its work has my strong support.
There is a final reason, Prime Minister, why we welcome your visit, and that is because we see it as a mark of your commitment to bring about Japan's closer integration into the Western system of nations. [end p17]
Britain and Japan share a belief in democratic values. We operate within the same liberal economic and trade system. We have very similar security interests. We both respect and welcome United States' leadership, and wish to work very closely with them.
These points in common should be the foundation [end p18] for a much broader relationship in which Britain and Japan work together as friends and allies across the board. Your visit has been a most important step in that direction.
Prime Minister, I believe that your motto is:
“Translate one's promises into action” .
I would be happy to adopt it too. Let us both commit ourselves to translate [end p19] into action, under our joint leadership, a promise to resolve outstanding problems and establish even closer relations between Britain and Japan.
I ask you all to rise and drink a toast to the Prime Minister of Japan and Mrs. Takeshita, to further prosperity and success for the people of Japan, and to good relations between our two countries.