Friday, October 13, 2000

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori spoke with Koichi Wakata of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, a member of the crew of the space shuttle "Discovery," and Brian Duffy, the captain, for about 20 minutes beginning at 6:47 A.M. (4:47 P.M. October 12 U.S. central daylight saving time). The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation of the efforts of Wakata and the other astronauts. With the Prime Minister was Hidenori Tsumura , captain of the baseball team of Tokyo Metropolitan Miyake High School, who had been evacuated with his schoolmates to Akiruno City, on the outskirts of Tokyo, because of volcanic activity on the island of Miyakejima. Wakata, who had been on his high school's baseball team, told Tsumura, "I hope you'll value the understanding of the importance of teamwork, concentration, and discernment you've cultivated through baseball and apply them as you work toward your own goals."