Japan-US security alliance the basis of peace in the Pacific
Shinzo Abe says Japan, stung by its war experience, is determined to pursue the path of peace, and this means pushing reforms at home and cementing a Pacific alliance led by the US
At the close of the second world war in the Pacific, we Japanese, with feelings of deep remorse, embarked on the path of rebuilding and renewing our country. Our predecessors' actions brought great suffering to Asia's peoples, and we must never avert our eyes from that. I uphold the views expressed by Japan's previous prime ministers in this regard.
Given this recognition and remorse, we Japanese have believed for decades that we must do all we can to contribute to Asia's development. We must spare no effort in working for the region's peace and prosperity.
I am proud of the path we have taken, but we did not walk that path alone. Seventy years ago, Japan had been reduced to ashes, and each and every month, citizens of the United States sent and brought gifts like milk for our children, warm sweaters and even goats. Yes, 2,036 American goats came to Japan in the years right after the war. Former enemies had become close friends.
And it was Japan that benefited earliest from the post-war international system that the US fostered by opening up its own market and calling for a liberal world economy. From the 1980s onwards, we have seen the rise of the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and, before long, China - all taking the path of economic development enabled by the open world order created by the US.
Japan, to be sure, did not stand idly by; it poured in capital and technologies to support these countries' growth. Both the US and Japan fostered prosperity - the seedbed for peace - in the region. Today, the US and Japan recognise that they must continue to take the lead in fostering a rules-based international economic order - fair, dynamic and sustainable - within which all countries can flourish, free from the arbitrary intentions of any national government.
In the world's great growth centre, the Pacific market, we cannot overlook sweatshops or environmental burdens. Nor can we simply allow free riders to weaken intellectual property. Instead, we must spread and nurture our shared values: the rule of law, democracy and freedom.