US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed full support for earthquake-hit Japan on a solidarity visit yesterday, hoping that gratitude for disaster relief would revitalize a sometimes uneasy alliance.
On a brief, largely symbolic stop in Tokyo, Clinton highlighted the support of business leaders and had tea with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial palace — an unusual invitation from the monarch to a non-head of state on a Sunday.
“I’m so, so sorry for everything your country is going through,” said Clinton, who shook hands with Akihito and kissed Empress Michiko on the cheek.
Photo: AFP
Speaking earlier to reporters, Clinton said she believed that Japan would emerge stronger from its worst crisis since World War II.
“We are very confident that Japan will demonstrate the resilience that we have seen during the crisis in the months ahead as you resume the very strong position that you hold in the world today,” Clinton said.
“We will do everything we can to support you as you come through this time of trial. And we know you will emerge even stronger than before,” she said after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto.
Clinton and Matsumoto said that they were launching a business partnership to support Japan’s reconstruction on its northeastern coast, where 13,705 people have been confirmed dead and more than 14,000 are still missing.
While details were vague, the heads of the countries’ main business federations — the US Chamber of Commerce and Nippon Keidanren — said they would meet on ways that foreign companies can take part in the massive rebuilding.
US Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue said he would tell US businesses that Japan was en route to recovery and encourage them to stay active in the world’s second-largest developed economy.
“It is in the interest of the American business community to see that the Japanese economic engine is working at peak performance as quickly as possible,” Donohue said, appearing next to Clinton.
US officials are hoping that the US response to Japan’s worst disaster since World War II can help reshape attitudes. Japan has been a staunch US ally for decades, but many citizens bristle at what they see as Washington’s domination.
Speaking after talks with Clinton, Matsumoto said the US’ help in the aftermath of the disaster had enabled Japanese people to “feel secure with the Japan-US alliance, including the US military in Japan.”
The US stations about 47,000 troops in Japan under a post-World War II security treaty, often leading to friction with host communities for the military bases.
After the March 11 disaster, US forces launched a round-the-clock relief effort bringing supplies to the battered coast.
US helicopters have flown aid missions from an aircraft carrier, marines helped clear the tsunami-ravaged Sendai airport and thousands searched for bodies.
“For many Japanese, for decades they felt like the US presence and role in Japan was not decided by them, was a burden that they had to accept,” a senior US official said.
“This generation of Japanese has now been demonstrated very clearly — with everything the United States has done — that we are there for them in their time of need, and it has led to a sea change in Japanese attitudes toward the United States,” the official told reporters traveling with Clinton.
US nuclear experts have also helped with advice on stabilizing the tsunami-hit Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, where the US military has flown in coolants and deployed freshwater barges and fire engines to help douse hot reactors.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in