(2021-0707-F) PM Hashimoto meeting with POTUS 6/27/96

The materials in FOIA 2021-0707-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. This collection contains records regarding a bilateral meeting between President Clinton and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan on June 27, 1996 while both leaders were in Lyons, France for the G-7 Summit. The head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Prime Minister Hashimoto had been elected to office in January of that year, after the resignation of his predecessor Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. After the LDP lost seats in the 1998 election, Prime Minister Hashimoto resigned. The new LDP President, Foreign Minister Keizō Obuchi, seceeded him. During Prime Minister Hashimoto’s term, ongoing trade issues influence much of the relationship between the United States and Japan. In 1993, the two nations signed the Framework for a New Economic Partnership, and then renewed it in 1995. Under this agreement, the two nations were heavily  involved in trade negotiations in the semiconductor, insurance, and civilian aircraft industries at the time of the meeting between President Clinton and Prime Minister Hashimoto. Public reports regarding the private portion of the meeting indicate that the two leaders discussed these matters heavily. The United States and Japan issued a Joint Statement Concerning Semiconductors on August 2, 1996 and Supplementary Measures Regarding Insurance on December 24, 1996. During the expanded portion of the meeting, President Clinton and Prime Minister Hashimoto also discussed the terrorism and the June 25, 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers facility in Saudi Arabia, food aid to North Korea, engagement with China and Russia, and international efforts in the Bosnia conflict. The records responsive to this collection include NSC email discussions regarding preparation for the bilateral meetings in Lyon as well as transcripts of official press briefings prior to and immediately following the Clinton-Hashimoto meeting. The NSC Records Management System files contain transmittal materials for meeting related briefing papers, the memorandum of conversation, and follow up correspondence between President Clinton and Prime Minister Hashimito. The files also include logistical planning materials for the bilateral meetings that took place in Lyons. The researcher should consult FOIA 2008-1184-F Segment 2 for the briefing book for the President’s trip to the 1997 G-7 Summit, including the bilateral meetings. Many of the records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.