Reaffirming the vital role of the United States-Japan alliance in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, and for other purposes.

Reaffirming the vital role of the United States-Japan alliance in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, and for other purposes. Whereas the United States and Japan established diplomatic relations on March 31, 1854, with the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Amity; Whereas, for the past 70 years, the alliance between the United States and Japan has played a vital role in ensuring peace, stability, and economic development in Asia and beyond; Whereas the United States and Japan are deeply committed to the common values of freedom, democracy, rule of law, and free market economics; Whereas the United States-Japan alliance, forged nearly six decades ago with the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, is the cornerstone for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and contributes internationally to peace and stability; Whereas the United States and Japan are indispensable partners in combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, improving global health, countering human trafficking and promoting human rights, assisting the victims of conflict and disaster worldwide, and contributing to global economic development; Whereas the alliance is a testament to the ability of great nations to overcome the past and jointly work to create a more secure and prosperous future; Whereas our two countries, coming from different cultural backgrounds, have created an active and dynamic relationship beneficial to both peoples; and Whereas cultural and people-to-people ties between the United States and Japan are long-standing and deep, as exemplified by the 1912 gift from the People of Japan to the People of the United States of the beautiful cherry trees that grace our Nations capital, signifying the unbreakable bond between the two nations: Now, therefore be it Whereas the United States and Japan granted each other formal recognition on March 31, 1854, with the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Amity, and established full diplomatic relations in 1858; Whereas, for the past 70 years, the alliance between the United States and Japan has played a vital role in ensuring peace, stability, and economic development in Asia and beyond; Whereas the United States and Japan are deeply committed to the common values of freedom, democracy, rule of law, and free market economics; Whereas the United States-Japan alliance, forged nearly six decades ago with the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, is the cornerstone for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and contributes internationally to peace and stability; Whereas the United States and Japan are indispensable partners in combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, improving global health, countering human trafficking and promoting human rights, assisting the victims of conflict and disaster worldwide, and contributing to global economic development; Whereas the alliance is a testament to the ability of great nations to overcome the past and jointly work to create a more secure and prosperous future; Whereas our two countries, coming from different cultural backgrounds, have created an active and dynamic relationship beneficial to both peoples; and Whereas cultural and people-to-people ties between the United States and Japan are long-standing and deep, as exemplified by the 1912 gift from the People of Japan to the People of the United States of the beautiful cherry trees that grace our Nations capital, signifying the unbreakable bond between the two nations: Now, therefore be it That the Senate (1) reaffirms the endorsement of long-standing United States policy to pursue close and cooperative ties with Japan in the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 ( Public Law 115409 (2) underscores the importance of the close people-to-people and cultural ties between our two nations; (3) calls for the strengthening and broadening of diplomatic, economic, and security ties between the United States and Japan; and (4) further calls for the continued cooperation between the Governments of the United States and Japan in addressing global challenges that threaten the security of people everywhere in the new Reiwa era of beautiful harmony September 26, 2019 Reported without amendment and with an amendment to the preamble

Summary: This resolution reaffirms the longstanding U.S. policy to pursue close and cooperative ties with Japan and the vital role of the U.S.-Japan alliance in promoting peace and stability. It also calls for further strengthening ties between the two countries.