Mrs. Obama: Konichiwa. I am so pleased to
be here today as the United States and Japan announce a new
partnership to educate girls across the globe. And before I get started, on
behalf of myself and my husband, I want to join in with
the others to express our condolences over the horrific
event yesterday in Tunisia. Our hearts go out to the loved
ones of those who were lost here in Japan and around the world. They are very much in our
thoughts and prayers today. I now want to start by thanking
my dear friend Mrs. Abe for her tremendous kindness
and hospitality. I am happy to be
here with you today. And I want to thank her for her
passionate work on behalf of girls worldwide. Mrs. Abe has been deeply
involved in Japan's efforts to create this partnership, and I
am so grateful to her and to Prime Minister Abe
for their leadership. I also want to thank Director
General Naoko Saiki for her wonderful remarks as well,
and for her leadership. And of course, I want to
recognize our outstanding Ambassador, Caroline Kennedy,
who is a dear friend. I am thrilled that she could
join us today because I know that she shares our commitment
to addressing our girls' education crisis. And I don't use the word lightly
-- this truly is a crisis. Right now, as you heard, 62
million girls worldwide are not in school. And when we talk
about this issue, we often focus on the economic
barriers girls face -- school fees or uniforms, or how they
live miles from the nearest school and have no
safe transportation, or how the school in their
community doesn't have bathroom facilities for girls so
they just can't attend. But we all know that the
problem here isn't just about infrastructure and resources. It's also about
attitudes and beliefs. It's about whether fathers --
and mothers -- think their daughters are as worthy of
an education as their sons. It's about whether communities
value girls simply for their bodies, for their
household labor, their reproductive capacities,
or whether they value girls for their minds as well. It's about whether societies
cling to laws and traditions that oppress women, or whether
they view women as full citizens entitled to the same
rights and freedoms as men. And if we're being
honest with ourselves, we have to admit that these
kinds of challenges aren't just limited to the developing world. For example, while we have made
tremendous strides in girls' education in the United
States and Japan, women in both our countries
still struggle to balance the needs of their families with
the demands of their careers. We still struggle with the
outdated belief that a woman cannot be both an accomplished
professional and a devoted mother; that she has to
choose between the two. But the reality is that when we
put limits like this on women's lives, we stifle
their potential, and, more importantly, we miss out
on so much of what they have to offer our societies. And for me, that's where
this issue gets personal. See, I grew up in a
working-class neighborhood, a place where hardly
anyone went to university. Many people worked long
hours for low salaries, struggled to pay their bills. As a young girl I
was bright, outgoing, with plenty of thoughts
and opinions of my own, but like a lot of young women, I
was often primarily defined by my relationship to
the men in my life. I was my father's daughter, or,
even though I was just as smart as my brother -- I could
hit a ball just as far, I could run just as fast --
I was always just his little sister. When I got to school, I
sometimes encountered teachers who assumed that a girl from
a humble background like mine wouldn't be a
successful student. I was even told that I would
never get accepted to the prestigious school like
Princeton University, so I shouldn't even apply. Like so many girls
across the globe, I got the message that someone
like me wasn't supposed to have big dreams; that I should keep
my head down, my voice quiet, and I should make myself just
a little smaller to fit other people's modest expectations. But I was lucky. I had parents who
believed in me, who urged me to speak up and
make myself heard in the world. So I held fast to my dreams. I worked hard in school. I went ahead and I applied to
Princeton -- and I got accepted. I went on to become a lawyer,
a city government employee, a hospital executive, and the
director of an organization that trained young people to
serve their communities. And most of all,
I became a mother, which is by far the most
important job I will ever have in my life. Now, continuing my career while
raising my daughters wasn't easy, but for me, this
was the right decision. For me, being a mother made
me a better professional, because coming home every night
to my girls reminded me what I was working for. And being a professional
made me a better mother, because by pursuing my dreams, I
was modeling for my girls how to pursue their dreams. And there were two main reasons
I was able to achieve this balance. First, I had the support from my
husband and family who believed in me, and from my employers,
who recognized the value of hiring women and providing
flexible workplaces. And both Prime Minister Abe and
President Obama are working very hard to create policies like
this that allow women -- and men -- to be excellent employees and
excellent spouses and parents. And second, like so
many other women, I was able to achieve both
personal and professional goals because of my education. My education was truly the
starting point for every opportunity I have
had in my life. But I know that for
every girl like me, there are so many others across
the globe who are just as smart, just as capable, just
as hungry to succeed, but they never have the
chance to go to school. And that is such a profound
waste of human potential -- and such a profound
loss for our world. I mean, just think about what we
would be missing here in Japan if women were not educated. Just imagine if Sadako Ogata was
never able to attend school and become one of the greatest
diplomats of our time. Imagine the loss of her moral
leadership at the United Nations. And what if the great
violinist, Midori, never had the chance
to discover her talent. Think about all the music
we would never have heard. Think of all the beauty
our world would have lost. And how about Chiaki Mukai. Without her education, she never
could have become the first woman astronaut in Japan,
inspiring so many young girls to reach for the stars. So just take my story, or
any of these women's stories, and multiply it by 62 million. That's when we begin to
understand the loss to our world when we fail to
educate our girls. But when we do educate girls,
when we truly invest in their potential, there is no limit
to the impact we can have. Girls who attend school
have healthier families. They earn higher salaries. And sending more girls to school
can boost a country's entire economy. So we know that educating girls
is the best investment we can make, not just in their future,
but in the future of their families, their communities
and their countries. And that is why the United
States government recently launched a new, global girls'
education effort called Let Girls Learn. As part of this initiative, U.S. Peace Corps volunteers will work
side-by-side with local leaders, families, and girls themselves
to help girls go to school and stay in school. They'll be creating
mentoring programs, girls' leadership
camps and so much more. But, as Mrs. Abe
said, of course, no one country can solve
this problem alone. And that is why I am
here today in Japan. Japan is one of America's
closest and most important allies and development partners. In fact, Japan is the largest
aid donor in all of Asia. And today, Japan is once
again leading the way with a 42-billion-yen investment
in girls' education. With this commitment, Japan is
truly setting the standard for countries around the world. And with this new partnership
between our two nations, we are issuing a call to action
to nations around the world. In the coming months and years,
we will be reaching out to world leaders and asking them to
deepen their commitment to girls' education. For those who are
already investing, we're going to ask
them to invest more. For those not yet engaged, we
will invite them to join us. And I think it is fitting that
we are starting this global effort here with our
friends in Japan. Because when it comes to
development issues like girls' education, our two countries
share a unique history, as you've heard. President John F. Kennedy launched the
Peace Corps back in 1961, and that inspired youth groups
here in Japan who helped found JOCV, which is celebrating its
50th anniversary this year. And today, President Kennedy's
daughter is proudly serving as America's ambassador to Japan,
and we are renewing our agreement for Peace Corps and
JOCV volunteers to work together on issues like girls' education. As Mrs. Abe said,
later this week, I'll be traveling to Cambodia,
which is one of the first countries where Let
Girls Learn will operate. And I understand that Mrs. Abe
just made her own visit to Cambodia, where she focused on
youth and education issues. And we are both so excited to
highlight the work that Peace Corps and JOCV volunteers are
doing in that country and so many others; how they're coming
together to model the values of our nation -- values like
fairness, equality, openness, opportunity. And today, I'm reminded of
something that President Kennedy once said about young people who
want to join the Peace Corps. He said that they are "a light
to all who seek a peaceful world." And I think that is just as true
today as it was 50 years ago, especially when it comes
to educating girls. So many women leaders in
developing countries -- businesswomen, politicians,
professionals -- they can trace their journey back to a Peace
Corps or JOCV volunteer who invested in their education. The story of a woman named
Anastasia Msosa from Malawi is a perfect example. When Anastasia was a girl, Peace
Corps volunteers came to teach at her school in Malawi, and
Anastasia was struck by their kindness and generosity. Inspired by their encouragement,
Anastasia went on to build a pioneering legal career, and
she eventually became the first female chief justice of
Malawi's Supreme Court. In reflecting on the impact the
volunteers had on her life, Chief Justice Msosa said -- and
this is her quote -- she said, "The volunteers shaped me into
building up to be what I am." She said, "The time with the
Peace Corps volunteers helped me to have dreams." So when Prime Minister Abe and
Mrs. Abe talk about building a "society where women shine,"
I think this is what they're talking about. They're talking about letting
the power, the genius, the creativity of
women shine through. They're talking about ensuring
that women and girls can pursue their dreams. And that's what this
effort is all about. It's about creating a
world where women shine. A world where every family,
every community and every nation can benefit from the
contributions of all of its citizens, men and
women, boys and girls. And I cannot think of a better
partner -- better partners in this work than Mrs. Abe
and Prime Minister Abe, and the great
country they serve. I am so grateful to them. I am grateful to all of you. And I am so grateful to the
Peace Corps and JOCV volunteers who are making this vision a
reality every day across the globe. I look forward to working with
all of you in the years ahead to give girls worldwide the
education they so richly deserve. Arigato gozaimasu. Thank you. Thank you so much. (applause)
