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| Top Speeches and Statements by Prime Minister |
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(Provisional Translation)
Memorial Address at the Joint Memorial Service by the Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party for the Late Mr. Zenko Suzuki
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Here today, I reverently offer my memorial address on the occasion of the Joint Memorial Service by the Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the late Mr. Zenko Suzuki, awarded the Second Senior Court Rank and Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, who served as the prime minister of Japan and the president of the LDP. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Suzuki for his long and relentless effort for Japan and for the world. Mr. Suzuki, who was loved and known by the public as "Zenko-san", passed away on July 19, "Marine Day". Given that he was born into a family of "amimoto," heads of fishermen, in Iwate Prefecture, and that he devoted himself in his early years in the activities of the fishermen's union and have established the development of fisheries, the main industry of his hometown, as the foundation of his politics, in this, I sense his strong ties with the "ocean." Mr. Suzuki pursued the "politics of harmony" as he assumed the heavy responsibilities as prime minister from July 1980, for two years and four months. His emphasized the importance of talks, which is the foundation of democracy and political philosophy that for the realization of social justice "inequality is a concern"@and wherein he reflected his peaceful and warm personality which contained his firm determination. At the time of his taking office, Japan was faced with an increasingly aging society while its economy was amidst transition from rapid to steady growth, and tension was mounting around the world with the former Soviet Union launching a military intervention in Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War, the situation in Poland and more situations revolving around. Furthermore, the energy situation did not stabilize due to the two oil crises and the world was overshadowed by concerns regarding slowdown in the international economic development and increase in trade friction. Under such tough circumstances, Mr. Suzuki devoted himself to efforts to establish a firm ground for Japan towards the 21st century. At the time, as a result of the government actively expanding its budget to deal with the economic confusion that emerged after the oil crises, Japan was faced with regular public finance imbalances. Faced with such a situation, Mr. Suzuki aimed to achieve a long-lasting growth led by the private sector and boldly reviewed the administration of public finance. Thus, he resolutely facilitated the reconstruction of public finance through compilation of an austere budget for the first time in twenty years by reducing the amount of government bond issuance and introducing a "zero ceiling" policy at the stage of estimated budget requests for FY1982. As for the administrative reform, which is inextricably linked with public finance reconstruction, Mr. Suzuki strived to realize a simple and efficient administration through downsizing or abolishing government services that had no longer met demands, and with the notion of leaving the tasks, in which the government had no longer needed to be directly involved, into the hands of the private sector. Mr. Suzuki inaugurated the Second Ad Hoc Commission on Administrative Reform, the so-called "Doko Rincho," chaired by Mr. Toshio Doko, as well as established and took the leadership as Chair of the Administrative Reform Promotion Headquarters. The reforms of Japan National Railways, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation which were privatized afterwards were results of dedicated efforts by Mr. Suzuki. In addition, in order to ensure the public's trust in politics, Mr. Suzuki took a drastic course of action concerning the system of electing the members of the House of Councillors, which had been debated amongst various circles and levels for over a decade, whereby the flaws of national constituency based on election of individual candidates were eliminated and the party-based fixed-list proportional representation system was adopted. In the international field, Mr. Suzuki contributed to the peace and stability of the world by actively participating in resolving the various issues. He promoted a comprehensive security policy that encompassed both domestic and foreign affairs including diplomacy, defense, securing resources and food, and others, in the interest of Japan's peace and safety. Mr. Suzuki also took part in and made contributions on the international scene such as at the United Nations meeting, summit meetings, and the South-North summit meeting. At the Second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament in 1982, as the leader of a country that has been bombed with atomic weapons, he called on the world for nuclear disarmament saying that, "To the extent of our knowledge, our planet is the only one in the universe inhabited by living beings and is thus invaluable. Therefore, destruction of our planet through thoughtless choices shall by no means be tolerated." Mr. Suzuki was also the first prime minister in office to inspect the Northern Territories as well as Okinawa, after its recovery. He engaged in efforts to develop the Japan- Russia and the Japan-US relations by actually visiting and verifying the situation of the local areas. Mr. Suzuki had also taken on active roles in the maintenance and enhancement of free trade in Japan through abolishment of trade protectionism, further opening up of its market and promoting manufactured import. He had also endeavored for the peace and prosperity of the world through expanding assistance for the development of economies and the improvement of quality of life and welfare in developing countries. We shall not forget the support and efforts of his wife Mrs. Sachi Suzuki and their family behind his achievements. I have heard that just prior to Mr. Suzuki assuming the presidency of the LDP, his wife had remarked, "I am going to see him off just as if he were going on a deep-sea fishing mission and will protect our family until his return." Those words, I believe, reflect her support for her husband.@I respectfully offer my heartfelt condolences for the deep grief of Mrs. Suzuki and their family who have long supported Mr. Suzuki. Mr. Suzuki, your political philosophy that you devoted your career for the future of Japan is most definitely carried on in the reform currently being pursued under the principle of "from public sector to private sector" and the diplomacy that fits the responsibilities of Japan in the international community. I would like to end my address with a promise that we, like you, will not succumb to the various difficulties and hardships we face in both domestic and international issues and do our utmost in the state's affairs. May you rest in peace.
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August 26, 2004
Junichiro Koizumi |