Speech #820241243

I understand. I did not impute to the Senator from New Jersey the authorship of the statement. The actual authorship of the statement makes my point even stronger. for that was a statement by the State Department. to the effect that the United States Embassy in Tokyo has pointed out that the Japanese regard the proposed tariff on tuna as a test case for future relationships between the United States and Japan. and attach to it no less importance than to the Japanese Exclusion Act. It seems to me vitally important that we recognize the implications of that statement. which the State Department has. in effect. approved by allowing the Senator from flew Jersey to place it in the RECORD at this point. and with which the United States Embassy at Tokyo has associated itself. for by comparing the tuna tariff with the Japanese Exclusion Act. the State Department has completely distorted the facts. as my colleague from California has well pointed out. It seems to me that the United States State Department and the United States Embassy in Tokyo could well spend time in informing the Japanese people and the Japanese business interests of what this bill proposes to do. the purpose of the bill. and why the Congress has felt it necessary to pass this temporary and relatively mild measure at this time. Our State Department and our Embassy in Tokyo should inform the Japanese people of the facts in this situation. so that the idea referred to in the State Departments statement would not develop in Japan. namely. the idea on the part of the Japanese people that the tuna tariff Is along the same lines as the Japanese Exclusion Act. In other words. the responsibility for the existence of such an idea on the part of the Japanese lies with our State Department and with the United States Embassy in Tokyo. because they have not explained our position to the Japanese people.