MS MCGUINNESS: Good afternoon, and welcome to NASA Headquarters. I’m NASA Press Secretary Jackie McGuinness, and we’re honored to be joined today by leaders from the United States and Japan to sign a framework agreement that recognizes our nations’ mutual interest in peaceful exploration. The Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes covers a broad portfolio of joint activities between our nations, including exploration, science, aeronautics, technology, and much more.
First, I’d like to welcome NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to deliver a few words.
MR NELSON: Thank you, Jackie. Is the microphone coming through? Okay. Welcome, everybody, and on behalf of the deputy administrator, Colonel Pam Melroy, on behalf of our entire workforce at NASA, which is a group of wizards – they make the impossible possible, as you have seen in some of the extraordinary things that have happened just in the last year – on behalf of all of these, I want to welcome you, Mr. Prime Minister here, your delegation. It’s an honor to have you, the foreign minister, Mr. Ambassador. It’s also our JAXA President Yamakawa, and it’s great to have our astronauts, Aki and Anne. So thank you all.
And of course, JAXA’s Koichi Wakata, a very experienced astronaut, is on the International Space Station as we speak, and he has flown with us five times already. I also want to thank the Secretary of State. I want to thank my old buddy, Ambassador Emanuel, who I’ll get to see in just a few weeks in Japan, and I want to thank all of you for being here.
The principles of diplomacy, democracy, and discovery are the core cornerstones of the U.S.-Japan alliance. Our nations are both spacefaring nations, nations poised to unlock the secrets of the universe. And today, we are once again reaffirming that Japan and the U.S. explore openly, explore peacefully, and explore together. And this framework that will be signed by the Secretary of State and the foreign minister, this framework deepens our partnership.
Space unites us. In this era of space exploration, every announcement and advancement is not an achievement for just a single country – it is a victory for all of humanity. And that is how the U.S. chooses to lead in this effort with Japan and others in the 21st century, on Earth and in the heavens.
Deputy Administrator Melroy and I are looking forward to visiting Japan next month, and we are going to be there to grow the bond between NASA and JAXA. Our space programs have storied histories of barriers overcome and new worlds understood, and so today we chart a new chapter in a continuing adventure together as allies and partners. Welcome.
MS MCGUINNESS: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Administrator. Next, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will deliver remarks.
PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA: (Via interpreter) Well, hello, everyone here. I am Fumio Kishida, prime minister of Japan. I am truly pleased that the framework agreement on Japan-U.S. space cooperation is being signed today.
The U.S.-Japan space cooperation has entered a new era with the Artemis project and many projects, including lunar activities, are already in the works by Japanese and U.S. astronauts. But I strongly hope that this agreement will robustly promote our space cooperation even further and also further expand the field of cooperation under the Japan-U.S. alliance, which has become stronger than ever under the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and myself.
Allow me to commend the efforts of everyone from both sides in developing this Framework Agreement, and I am committed to continuing to working lockstep with the United States to deepen this collaboration.
Arigato…