April 17, 2012
By YOICHI FUNABASHI/ Special to The Asahi Shimbun

Tadashi Yamamoto was a truly international
individual who personified how much a privatesector person in Japan could accomplish throughdeep dialogue with the world, and his initiatives forjoint efforts toward a common vision.
He was involved in a long list of endeavors, such as
the Shimoda Conference, a forum for policy
dialogue between Japanese and U.S. leaders, theU.S.-Japan Parliamentary Exchange Program, theTrilateral Commission, the Korea-Japan Forum, theASEAN-Japan Forum, a cooperative project
involving Japan, the United States and China, and
the Global Health and Human Security Program.
From an independent position and perspective in the private sector, he undertook international exchange withleaders and other influential people abroad while seeking out the role that Japan should play in the world.
I believe his accomplishments can be compared to those of such outstanding individuals as renowned
industrialist Eiichi Shibusawa, who was deeply involved in international exchanges in the prewar period, andShigeharu Matsumoto, founder of the International House of Japan, in the postwar era.
I first met Yamamoto in a small office in the Akasaka district in the mid-1970s.
Ever since, I have been given countless opportunities to participate in the intellectual exchanges that
Yamamoto strove for.
I still vividly recall being invited to attend a gathering in Hawaii in 1983 where the participants announced
and discussed the results of a joint research project related to economic friction between Japan and theUnited States. While I remember being hugely impressed by the array of U.S. Congressmen who earnestly
read the released report, took notes and commented on the research, I also felt deep respect toward
Yamamoto who made possible the policy dialogue that contained such substance.
His calling in life was to give to others, and that has given opportunities to an incredibly large number ofpeople, myself included.
While he is rightfully known for serving as a bridge between Japan and the United States, Yamamoto also
was a bridge to Asia.
In the late 1990s, at an international conference in Paris on the theme of Europe and Asia, I dined with
Yamamoto and other participants from Asia.
When a South Korean diplomat said, "What Asia needs from now is a Jean Monnet," a number of otherindividuals at the table said in unison, "Tadashi is Asia's Jean Monnet."
They were referring to Jean Monnet, who is considered the father of European integration. He came from afamily of cognac exporters and never sought a government position. He freely met with the leaders ofEuropean nations and their aides, and using a practical imagination as his main tool, lobbied for European
integration and turned a dream into a vision.
Likewise, Yamamoto pursued such a vision throughout his life. Above all else, he was humble.
Such humility was an important condition for Japan as it sought to rebuild after World War II. It should also
have been an even more necessary characteristic after Japan became an economic power.
Jusuf Wanandi, a friend of Yamamoto's and vice chairman of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies in Jakarta, said, "The attraction of Tadashi is his humility and that is where the appeal of Japan in thepostwar era also appears."With the passing of Yamamoto, I cannot help but also feel a sense of losing such an aspect of Japan.
(Yoichi Funabashi is former editor in chief of The Asahi Shimbun.)
By YOICHI FUNABASHI/ Special to The Asahi Shimbun