Did Biden say that in the Second World War the United States and Japan fought for common values?

In April 2024, a statement by the American president, allegedly made by him during an event with the participation of the Japanese Prime Minister, spread in Telegram channels. We checked the reliability of these publications.

On April 11, a short video began to disperse at Telegram, in which US President Joe Biden, says, says: “We are the same - Japan and the USA. We can share the distance, but the generation after generation we fought together for common hopes and common values. ” At this time, the Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kisida is nearby. Judging by the situation and clothing of politicians, the video captures a certain solemn reception.

Numerous Telegram channels saw a hypocrisy in this statement by Biden or at least the forgetfulness of the American leader. “Joe Biden could not utter a toast without a cheat sheet and said that during the Second World War, the United States and Japan“ fought for common values ​​”,” - wrote Channel "Truthfulness" (177,000 views at the time of writing this analysis). "Zlaya Pruf”(180,000) commented on the video as follows:“ Grandfather Bidon explained to the narrowing lover of Sushi that the United States and Japan for many generations fought together for common ideals, and for some reason the evil Putin bombed Pearl Harbor, and then threw two nuclear bombs into Japanese cities. ” Authors of many other channels, for example "Newsach / Dv"(206 000),"Solovyov"(200,000),"Putin in Telegram"(185,000) and"Uncle Glory”(180,000), although they spoke more streamlined, but still accused the US president of“ forgetting, on whose side there was Japan in the Second World War. ” They quoted Biden's statement on the air of the TV channel "Russia 1". “And you won’t argue: in Pearl Harbor and during the battle for Ivodzim, the Americans with the Japanese without each other and really could not do,” the author of the plot emphasized.

April 8 Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kisida Arrived In Washington with a weekly state visit. By messages The media, on the agenda of the visit, there was a discussion of about 70 issues, including strengthening the defense ties of the United States and Japan against the backdrop of the strengthening of China. April 10 in the White House took place A solemn dinner organized by Biden in honor of the visit of Kisida.

It was at this technique that a video was shot, a fragment from which was dispersed through Telegram channels. The full record of the toasts with which the US President and his guest opened a solemn event published a television channel C-Span And the YouTube channel of the magazine Forbes. Excerpts of the broadcast also It was divided Associated Press. Full text Tost pronounced by Biden can be found on the official website of the White House of the United States.

White House Dinner
A solemn dinner on the occasion of Fumio Kisida to the United States. Source: Instagram

Judging by these sources, what was said by the US President that evening was different from the quote that he was attributed to Russian -speaking media. Literally, Biden said: “We are the same - Japan and the USA. Perhaps we are shared by the distance, but from generation to generation we are united by the same hopes, the same values. ” In the presentation of Telegram channels, the words “we are united” turned into “we fought together”. Most likely, the bloggers incorrectly heard what was said and mixed up two English phrases: “We are brown together” (“unites us”) and “we fough toGether” (“We fought together). It is significant that American And English -speaking Japanese The media did not make such a mistake.

Reflections on the similarity of the United States and Japan, the American leader summed up the personal story that told At the beginning of the toast: “A few days after my inauguration, more than three years ago, I received a large brilliant red-blue envelope, glued with stickers. Inside there were letters from Japanese schoolchildren who stutter, like me once in childhood. When the teacher told her class that in childhood I also suffered from stuttering, the children shone, smiled and said: "We are the same." Well, we are really the same - Japan and the USA. ”

Bidens and Kishidas at the WH
Prime Minister Fumio Kisida and Yuko Kisida with President Joe Biden and the first lady Jill Biden before a state dinner. Source: White House Facebook Page

In his speech, Biden did not declare that the United States and Japan fought together in the Second World War. On the contrary, he recalled several times that once the two countries were “sworn enemies” and that the friendship between them replaced the “destructive hostility that reigned before”. In a response toast, the Japanese Prime Minister Kisid confirmed that the countries have gone a long path that led to an “unshakable” friendship.

USA and Japan Installed Stable trade and diplomatic relations in the middle of the 19th century, when the country of the rising sun during the restoration of Meiji Refused From the policy of isolation and became open to the world. In the First World War Washington and Tokyo were allies and supported the Entente. Relations worsened in 1931 because of invasion Japan in Manchuria, and after nine years of the power of the Asian country Concluded The Military-Political Union with Hitler Germany and Italy led by Mussolini. In World War II, the United States and Japan were direct military opponents and fought against each other. In 1951, Tokyo signed San Francisian Peace Treaty and accepted the so -called Doctrine Yoshida (named Japanese Prime Minister in 1946-1954), according to which Japan acted as an ally of the United States in the Cold War. In the next decades, the countries actively cooperated in various fields, and reconciliation symbolically secured at the highest level through state visits. In 2016, Barack Obama became The first American president who visited Hiroshima, destroyed by nuclear bombardment, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the American port of Perl Harbor, after the attack on which the United States entered the Second World War. “The visit of the leaders of the two countries demonstrates the power of reconciliation, which has turned former opponents into the nearest allies,” - wrote Then the White House.

Obama laying wreath at Hiroshima
President Obama in the memorial park of the world in Hiroshima in Japan. Source: C-Span

The earliest “verified” publication, in which Biden’s words were incorrectly quoted and interpreted, appeared in the Telegram channel “Tucker Carlson in Russian and others»April 11 at 04:43 Moscow time (14,000 views). In the signature to the video, the author used an erroneous translation “fought together for common hopes and common values” and added from himself: “Especially in the Second World War ...” three minutes later the channel “Ne. Sahar Live"(18,000 views) posted the same video with a comment:" Old Joe again forgot to drink pills and disgraced - he could not utter a toast without a cheat sheet and forgot on which side Japan fought in World War II. " The quote is even more distorted in the publication of the channel that appeared in an hourMordor's voice"(56,000):" Joe Biden said that during the Second World War, the United States and Japan "fought for common values." However, most channels copied the text from the post that appeared in the Telegram channel "News"(34,000 views) at 09:01. It said: "Joe Biden could not utter a shell without a cheat sheet and said that during the Second World War, the United States and Japan" fought for common values. " It was this wording that appeared, for example, in the publications of channels "Solovyov" And "Putin in Telegram".

Thus, Biden did not say that the United States and Japan fought together for anything. He used the phrase “We Were Brought Together” (“We are united”), not “We Founght Together” (“We fought together”). Many telegram channels that distributed videos not only brought the wrong translation, but also thought up the quote, claiming that Biden at that moment spoke directly about the Second World War.

Photo on the cover: C-Span

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