TOKYO (Press Release)– Congressman Eric Cantor, the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, made the following statement on Tuesday, April 22, during his visit to Japan:
“We have a senior delegation of House Members who believe that America has global interests and support America’s engagement in the world. We support an America that leads. We welcome the President’s visit to the Asia-Pacific and to Japan. Our coinciding visits reflect a strong commitment on behalf of both the U.S. executive and legislative branches toward this region. We believe that our prosperity in America is tied to the growth and stability of the Asia-Pacific and that a cornerstone of U.S. engagement in this region is the U.S.-Japanese alliance.
“As a global power, however, the United States has many challenges across the world. We all remain very concerned about what’s going in Iran and its quest for a nuclear weapons capability. We are also very concerned about the terrible conflict in Syria, as well as by Mr. Putin of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.
“While we cannot afford to ignore these challenges, none of this should distract from the priority the United States also must place on the Asia-Pacific. We are a Pacific nation. However, America’s commitment to our friends and allies around the world is critical to our standing with our allies in the Asia-Pacific region. We commend the President’s visit to the region and hope that his visit, as well as ours, can help bolster the relationships we have with Japan and our other allies in the region.
“Over the past few days, we had productive meetings with Prime Minister Abe, Defense Minister Onodera, Foreign Minister Kishida, members of the Diet and many others. We had very good and fruitful discussions. We commend the steps Prime Minister Abe has taken to promote economic prosperity as well as security and peace in the Asia-Pacific region. We discussed issues like North Korea and remain very concerned about the nuclear threat that it poses to countries not only in the Asia-Pacific but also to the United States. We discussed the issue of China and the challenges and opportunities that a growing China presents to both of our countries. Lastly, a lot of our discussions focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We’re pleased to hear that our negotiators along with those here in Japan are making progress. All of us would say we believe this agreement would mean real job growth and real economic prosperity not only for you here in the region but for us in the United States.”