Governor Delivers Remarks at 46th Annual Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference; Calls for Stronger Economic and Strategic Ties with Japan

Thank you, Chairman Thompson for those kind words. And to Chairman Mogi, thank you for your outstanding leadership that has brought us to the 46th Annual Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference. It is a joy to be with you all.

To Ambassador Sasae, Consul General Yoshida, my colleagues, Japanese governors and fellow American governors and especially to our host today Governor Branstad, thank you for your example and your hospitality. Iowa is a beautiful state, and it is a wonderful venue for us to celebrate this great partnership between the Midwest and Japan.

On days like today, the distance between the Midwest heartland of America and the islands of Japan seems very small. The bond between the Midwest and Japan, our common traditions in agriculture and manufacturing, shines brightly, from the slopes of majestic Mount Fuji to the banks of the Wabash back home in Indiana. The ties that bind our people are strong. I'm grateful to have a few moments before you this morning to discuss the importance of those ties at this time in the life of both of our nations.

I'm pleased to say those ties are in high relief with more than 30 Hoosiers attending this conference. Indiana has the largest out-of-state delegation at this annual meeting. Not that we're competitive with each other, but I'm proud of my Hoosier delegation and appreciate all of them being here.

Speaking of our Indiana home, our state's friendship with Japan spans nearly a century. We put it on paper back in 1999, when Indiana and the Tochigi Prefecture joined as sister states. I'm proud to say that in 2011, our hearts, our prayers and nearly one million dollars was raised by Hoosiers for the victims and families of those affected by the earthquake and devastating tsunami in northern Japan. The ties that bind our people are strong.

There are also strong economic ties.

Under Prime Minister Abe's leadership, Japan is back, and I am happy to report that Indiana is back, too. Indiana is a state that works as we like to say. As a state in the middle of America, we like to call ourselves the heart of the heartland. Indiana is a place where we've demonstrated that government can live within its means. We've made important investments in infrastructure and education, maintained strong reserves of nearly two billion dollars, and we were able to enact the largest state tax cut in Indiana history. Our corporate tax rate, when it's fully implemented, will be the second lowest corporate tax rate in America.

With more than 46,000 Hoosiers going to work every day in Japanese companies in our state in more than 240 facilities, we've also committed ourselves as a state to make career and technical and vocational education a priority in every high school in the state of Indiana again.

We're going to celebrate all of the career pathways in our high schools for all of our young people for a more prosperous future for them and for all of those who do business in the Hoosier State.

Japan is our largest foreign direct investor in Indiana, and its roots run deep throughout our economy.

My very first trip overseas was to Japan, and only to Japan, last year for the U.S. Midwest-Japan Association Conference that took place in Tokyo.

I had a glance, literally, of the roots that had extended between Indiana and Japan when I traveled to Ota City and had the privilege of planting a black pine, which is Gunma Prefecture's state tree at the Shigeru company property. It now stands next to Indiana's state tree, the tulip poplar, that was planted by one of my predecessors 27 years ago and towers over the little black pine that I planted. The CEO of the Shigeru company told me that he had watered that first tree every day for 27 years, and I have confidence that the tree I planted will match the first as a wonderful metaphor to the length and breadth of our relationship.

Indiana today is proud of the ties that we have with the people and enterprises of Japan. Our state is the only U.S. state that is home to three Japanese original equipment manufacturers--Subaru, Toyota and Honda. When one grows, the network of suppliers grows.

Another example, which we're pleased to celebrate, came just a few short weeks ago when Toyota announced that it will invest another $100 million to boost production of their Highlander midsize sport utility vehicle in Princeton, Indiana, adding some 300 jobs to the Hoosier State. Together, Indiana and Japan and all of the Midwest are growing. And we're growing together. It demonstrates that the closer we are, the closer we work together, and the more opportunities that are presented. One of my colleagues said that his state is open for business, and let me assure you that Tony Suzuki, who leads our office in Tokyo, with more than 40 years of executive and senior management experience in Japan and the United States, wanted me to mention his name and tell you that Indiana is open for business too.

Lastly, as we approach a sad anniversary in just a few days in our nation, it's important for all of us to remember that each of us, in our respective roles and in our nations, in public life and private life, play a role in our nation's security.

I wish to commend Chairman Thompson, not only for the recognition he recently received but for the vital role he played on the 9/11 Commission in this country, developing proposals and the means whereby the American homeland could prosper and be protected as a beacon of freedom.

In these anxious times of rising aggression from the plains of Northern Iraq and Ukraine, to the shores of the Pacific, I would suggest to you that building a robust and sustainable future will require more than simply maintaining the status quo of our relationships. I think now is the time to strengthen our economic and strategic ties between Japan, America and all free nations. I believe that trade means jobs, but trade also means security, and the time has come for all of us, on both sides of the Pacific, to urge the swift adoption of the Trans Pacific Partnership for the sake of our economies and the sake of our security. Stronger economies in America and Japan will mean a safer and more stable region in the world.

I would submit to you lastly that growth alone will not secure our freedom. We must be strong in our respective nations. As President Reagan proved, peace comes through strength. Conversely, weakness arouses evil. Japan is without a doubt America's most important ally in the Pacific. So, we must acknowledge that a stronger military in Japan with broader capabilities and a stronger military in America will mean a stronger and safer free world.

As I close my remarks, it is a privilege to be with you today at the 2014 Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference to reflect in this place about the ties that bind our nations, both economic and strategic. But I believe that, in traveling through Japan and seeing the growth in our relationship with your nation over the years, that our economic and strategic ties cannot fully explain the connection that we have made in our state and across the Midwest with your great nation. I believe that the Japanese people and Japanese companies have found a particularly welcome home in the heartland of America because of shared values. The people of Indiana, and no less across the Midwest, and the people of Japan cherish those timeless values of integrity, excellence, hard work, honesty, tradition, family, and modesty. These are the shared values of the heart of the people of Japan and the heart of the heartland, and on that foundation, we have coined a true kizuna between all of our people. So I come to you today, deeply humbled, to say thank you. To say, "domo arigato" on behalf of all of the people of Indiana, and here's to an even brighter future between the Midwest and Japan and our two great nations.

Thank you and God bless.

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