Office of the Historian

217. Letter From President Ford to Japanese Prime Minister Miki, Washington, January 15, 1976.1 2

Washington, January 15, 1976

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

His Excellency
Takeo Miki
Prime Minister of Japan
Tokyo

January 15, 1976

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

Thank you for your letter expressing concern over the fisheries legislation now before the United States Congress.

The United States is participating with Japan in the Third United Nations Law of the Sea Conference. These negotiations deal with the broad range of oceans issues of importance to our countries and the world community, including the question of a fair and equitable fisheries regime. International agreement coming from the law of the sea negotiations — agreement concluded on terms acceptable to all and in reasonable time — offers the best prospects for safeguarding our fisheries interests.

Until there is a comprehensive Law of the Sea treaty, we look forward to continued negotiations of bilateral and regional agreements with nations fishing off our coasts. The mutually beneficial United States-Japanese negotiations concluded in Tokyo in December 1974, were an important step in this regard.

I very much welcomed our meetings at Rambouillet in November.

Sincerely,
[signed]
Gerald R. Ford

  1. Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, Box 2, Japan, Prime Minister Miki (2). No classification marking. Miki’s November 4, 1975 letter expressed concern about Congressional legislation to unilaterally establish a 200-mile exclusive fishery zone. (Ibid.) The memoranda of conversation from the meetings, November 15–17, between the leaders of the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are ibid., Memoranda of Conversation, Box 16.↩
  2. Ford replied to Miki’s letter about fisheries legislation in the United States.↩