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1252535
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10/3/75 - Toast: The Return Banquet Visit of Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan
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1252535
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10/3/75 - Toast: The Return Banquet Visit of Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan
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President's Speeches and Statements Reading Copies (Ford Administration)
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1252535
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1975-10-03
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1975
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1975-10-03
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1975
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The original documents are located in Box 17, "10/3/75 - Toast: The Return Banquet Visit
of Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan" of the President's Speeches and
Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 17 of President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
TOAST: THE RETURN BANQUET
VISIT OF THEIR MAJESTIES,
THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF JAPAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1975
- 1 -
MRS. FORD AND I ARE HONORED TO BE YOUR MAJESTIES
GUESTS THIS EVENING.
JAPANESE HOSPITALITY IS ALWAYS WARM
AND GRACIOUS, AS I CAN TESTIFY TO FROM MY VISITS TO TOKYO
AND KYOTO LAST YEAR.
- 2 -
YOUR KIND AND THOUGHTFUL WORDS HAVE MADE A
DEEP IMPRESSION UPON US HERE.
IT IS MY HONOR TO HAVE
THIS OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND TO THEM.
- 3 -
YOUR MAJESTIES' VISIT TO WASHINGTON HAS BEEN
A PLEASANT BUT ALL TOO BRIEF OCCASION FOR US.
TOMORROW,
YOU LEAVE FOR A JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA.
MANY OF THE
AMERICANS YOU WILL MEET AND THE PLACES YOU WILL VISIT HAVE
LONG-STANDING AND IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS WITH JAPAN.
- 4 -
I AM PLEASED THAT YOUR MAJESTIES' WILL SEE OUR SMALL TOWNS
AS WELL AS OUR GREAT CITIES.
THE FARM YOU WILL VISIT
IN ILLINOIS IS SYMBOLIC OF THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE
AND TRADE IN JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS.
)
- 5 -
I AM PARTICULARLY HAPPY THAT YOUR MAJESTIES WILL
VISIT THE OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH CENTERS IN WOODS HOLE,
MASSACHUSETTS AND LA JOLLA (LA-HOYA), CALIFORNIA, WHERE
SOME OF AMERICA'S LEADING MARINE BIOLOGISTS WILL HAVE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS MUTUAL INTERESTS.
- 6 -
YOUR MAJESTY'S PERSONAL ROLE IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SYMBOLIZES
THE CONTRIBUTION THAT INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES
HAVE MADE TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE TO OUR TWO NATIONS'
MUTUAL BENEFIT.
- 7 -
MRS. FORD AND I ARE PLEASED THAT TIME HAS BEEN FOUND
FOR HER MAJESTY,
THE EMPRESS,
TO MEET AMERICANS WHO SHARE
HER ARTISTIC INTERESTS AND HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS.
WE ARE GLAD THAT YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TIME TO RELAX AND ENJOY
OTHER ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE, SUCH AS FOOTBALL,
DISNEYLAND
AND THE TROPICAL BEAUTY OF HAWAII.
- 8 -
YOUR VISIT DRAWS ATTENTION AS WELL TO THE PLACE
AMERICANS OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY OCCUPY IN OUR NATIONAL LIFE.
WHILE THEIR NUMBERS ARE NOT LARGE, THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS
1
TO AMERICAN LIFE HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT.
I
- 9 -
THROUGH QUIET AND DILIGENT ENDEAVOR, JAPANESE-AMERICANS
HAVE ATTAINED RESPECTED PLACES IN THE HIGHEST RANKS OF EVERY
PROFESSION, IN THE ARTS AND SCIENCES AND IN THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS
OF THIS COUNTRY.
THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE HAS ENRICHED
AMERICAN LIFE.
THEY ARE A LIVING BOND BETWEEN OUR TWO
GREAT COUNTRIES.
- 10 -
YOUR MAJESTY,
WHEN YOU ASSUMED THE THRONE IN 1926,
YOU CHOSE THE JAPANESE WORDS "SHOWA" (SHOW-WAH), MEANING
"ENLIGHTENED PEACE," AS THE NAME OF YOUR REIGN.
THOSE WORDS
EXPRESSED AN EXALTED IDEAL AND NOW,
IN THE UNPRECEDENTED
50TH YEAR OF YOUR REIGN,
THE JAPANESE PEOPLES' ACCOMPLISHMENTS
AND THEIR PLACE IN THE WORLD HAVE FULFILLED YOUR EARLY HOPES.
- 11 -
YOUR MAJESTIES' HISTORIC VISIT HAS ENHANCED
JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH A NEW DIGNITY.
IT HAS MADE
US ALL EVEN MORE AWARE OF THE BENEFITS OF PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP
BETWEEN US.
IT HAS ALSO REINVIGORATED OUR SHARED
DETERMINATION TO ENCOURAGE EVEN CLOSER TIES AND GREATER
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE JAPANESE AND AMERICAN PEOPLE.
- - 12 -
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I ASK THAT YOU JOIN ME
IN EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THEIR MAJESTIES' HOSPITALITY
THIS EVENING AS I PROPOSE A TOAST TO THEIR MAJESTIES,
THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF JAPAN.
END OF TEXT