Sen. Cruz: The American-Japanese Friendship Is Critically Important for Preserving Peace and Security in the Pacific Region and Across the Globe

As member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday I continued my Indo-Pacific tour with a visit to Tokyo where I met with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Defense Minister Taro Kono. Still photos of my visit are below.

There, I praised the newly signed U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement as a victory for hardworking Texans and Americans:

I'm very glad for the trade agreement that was signed just this week that will expand the trade between our two nations and will benefit both nations. I'm also glad for the strong position that Japan has taken in dealing with North Korea and the threat posed by North Korea, and also in dealing with military expansionism coming from China. I believe China poses the greatest long term and even medium term geopolitical threat to the United States. And the American-Japanese friendship and alliance is critically important for standing up to that threat and preserving peace and security both in the Pacific region and across the globe.

Reinforcing the important friendship between the two nations, I continued:

This is a friendship that both countries value, that we cherish. I appreciate the hospitality the Prime Minister showed me and the graciousness and welcoming. And I look forward to continuing working together to strengthen that friendship and relationship - to strengthen the investment. We talked about for example the Japanese investment in F-35 fighter craft, which are manufactured in my home state of Texas. At the same time I talked about the very significant Japanese investment in Texas. Including, I shared that I've had the opportunity to visit both the North American headquarters and the truck factory of Toyota outside of San Antonio and that is a powerful illustration of the synergies. How both countries are benefited from trade, from friendship. And I look forward to that friendship and alliance only continuing to blossom in the years and decades ahead.

On Monday, I kicked off my tour with a visit to Pearl Harbor. Stay tuned for more updates from my tour here.

Prime Minister Abe. and I Photo Credit: Cabinet Public Relations Office.

Marine Security Guard detachment and I at U.S. Embassy Tokyo. Photo Credit: Cabinet Public Relations Office.

Members of the American Chamber in Tokyo and I. Photo Credit: American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.