November 18, 2020

Castro Resolution Reaffirming the U.S.-Japan Alliance Passes the House of Representatives

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of its Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee released the following statement after the House passed H. Res. 349, a resolution reaffirming the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

“Today, the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 349, which I authored with Adrian Smith of Nebraska. The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific, and rooted in our shared democratic values.”

 “In 2014, I co-founded the Japan Caucus in recognition of the alliance’s importance. In the six years since, the bipartisan Caucus has grown to include over 100 members. The U.S.-Japan alliance goes deeper than just defense cooperation. It is rooted in our shared values of democracy. This relationship has also reached new heights in recent years. Just this week, the United States and NASA launched the first operational, crewed spaceflight in almost a decade. Three American astronauts were joined by Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

“The United States and Japan are the world’s first and third largest economies, with each crucial to the economic success of the other. Last year, U.S.-Japan trade topped $300 billion, and Japan was our 4th largest goods export market.  In recent years, Japan has been one of San Antonio’s largest export markets, and Texas’s fifth largest export destination.

“The passage of this resolution comes at a crucial time as both countries undergo leadership transitions. I was encouraged to see that one of President-elect Joe Biden’s first calls was with Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, and that they reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance and the need to cooperate on defense, democracy, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This resolution is an affirmation of the strength of this alliance, which will grow in coming years.”

You can view the full resolution here.

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