Happy Independence Day 2026!
A special message for ACCJ members from US Ambassador to Japan George Glass
Last July, President Trump made a pledge. Speaking in Iowa to launch a year of celebrations to mark the 250th birthday of the United States, he promised to make the semiquincentennial “the single greatest year in the history of our country.”
Those celebrations are not limited to our 50 states, either. As United States ambassador, I took up the president’s challenge to commemorate our nation’s momentous milestone with a series of memorable events and initiatives across Japan.
Thanks to the generous support of so many American and Japanese corporate partners, we kicked off our impressive lineup of festivities with an event in January, which included a video message from President Trump that paid tribute to the “unbreakable bond” between the United States and Japan.
Since the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the United States has been an inspirational symbol of freedom, democracy, and opportunity for people and countries around the world.
At the same time, our partnerships with nations that also embrace our values have been key to so much of America’s enduring success. And there is, arguably, no greater partnership than the one between the United States and Japan. Over more than 70 years, our alliance has brought security and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific region and leadership to multiple fields of human discovery and industrial innovation.
In recognizing the extraordinary legacy of the Declaration of Independence this year, we are also acknowledging the remarkable contributions of the US–Japan partnership to both the American story and our nation’s achievements. This is very much a shared celebration, which is why we have taken the “America 250” party on the road, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south.
In May, I visited Shimoda, the birthplace of the US–Japan relationship, for the city’s annual Black Ship Festival. The weekend reinforced for me just how far our partnership has progressed since Commodore Matthew Perry’s arrival in Japan and the subsequent first treaties between our countries in the 1850s.
“My sincere thanks to the ACCJ board and all the member companies for your vital work to energize the US–Japan economic partnership and infuse it with our American spirit of possibility.”
The United States and Japan are now the largest investors in each other’s economies, with Japanese companies employing more than 1 million Americans. Since the ACCJ was established in 1948, American companies have been pivotal partners in Japan’s development and emergence as an economic powerhouse. And now American companies are helping accelerate Japan’s digital transformation and ensuring the US–Japan partnership remains at the forefront of the most consequential period in modern history.
Today, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the US–Japan partnership has never been stronger or more ambitious. Last year’s trade and investment deal—which includes Japan’s $550 billion US investment commitment and cooperation agreements in advanced technologies, energy, critical minerals, and shipbuilding—recalibrated our bilateral economic relationship and unleashed its enormous potential.
Together, we are reviving manufacturing industries, investing in the sectors of tomorrow, and securing our technological dominance by building reliable and resilient supply chains. Already, we are seeing the fruits of this reinvigorated economic belief. Japanese companies are investing in America—and in American workers—at record levels, while US companies in areas like advanced technologies and pharmaceuticals are expanding their presence and sharing their expertise in Japan.
At last year’s ACCJ Independence Day celebration, I said that the US–Japan partnership needed “the determination and urgency to seize the moment.” One year later, emboldened by the vision of President Trump and Prime Minister Takaichi, our partnership is doing exactly that.
As I told a group of Liberal Democratic Party members in May, if 2025 was the US–Japan partnership’s year of agreement, 2026 is our year of action. We have the road map, the resources, and the resolve. And our world-class American companies are fundamental to this mission, as they have been for nearly 80 years.
My sincere thanks to the ACCJ board and all the member companies for your vital work to energize the US–Japan economic partnership and infuse it with our American spirit of possibility. I look forward to working with you all in the months and years ahead to take that partnership to new, glorious heights. Happy Independence Day!
