Our two governments have pledged to invest up to 15 billion dollars on such bilateral initiatives as protecting the environment, fighting AIDS, disease eradication, education, emergency preparedness, biodiversity, and scientific cooperation. In this way, our governments are making a direct impact on individual lives around the world. In the U.N., the WTO, APEC, IMF and other multinational and multilateral organizations, the U.S.-Japan cooperation is key to the successful implementation of any policy. And we believe one of the best ways to recognize the importance of Japan's role in the next century will be for Japan to take its seat as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Japan is no less important to us in the economic sphere.
Japan is our largest overseas trading partner.
Our exports to Japan are equal to all the American exports to the United Kingdom, France and Germany combined. This symposium is perhaps a good opportunity to take stock of this remarkable partnership and its importance to the community of nations. It is also host to some 40 billion dollars of investment by American firms. Both sides will need to work hard over the coming months to avert trade frictions arising from this imbalance. These factors explain why we are so concerned about Japanese economic prospects and why we have encouraged Japan's efforts to stimulate economic growth.