JCP Fuwa meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Khai

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo on June 5 met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at a Tokyo hotel.

Prime Minister Khai was in Tokyo to participate in an international conference.

Khai expressed his gratitude for JCP activities in support of the Vietnamese national liberation struggle and said that he appreciated the Japan-Vietnam relations being developed in both economic and personnel exchanges.

Citing an increasing number of young Japanese tourists visiting Vietnam and a Japanese magazine running a story on the Communist Party of Vietnam Congress, Fuwa said that Vietnam is attracting Japanese people in many ways and expressed hope that these exchanges will promote further friendly ties.

Khai explained the Vietnamese national liberation struggle and the subsequent struggle towards building socialism. He said that reform efforts called "doi moi," which aim at establishing the market economy within socialism, have been carried out in the process of meeting the needs of the people while overcoming various difficulties.

Fuwa stressed that the Vietnamese people's struggle, which achieved national independence through fighting the three imperialist powers of Japan, France, and the United States, testifies to the historical achievement made by humanity in the 20th century.

If Vietnam's doi moi succeeds in building "socialism integrated with a market economy, it will have significant impact not only on developing countries, but also on social progress in highly developed capitalist countries, including Japan," Fuwa said.

Fuwa also underscored that Vietnam's participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked a turning point for the regional organization in that it became an international organization comprising nations with different economic and political systems working for peace in Asia.

Asked by Khai to comment on the popularity of Japan's new cabinet led by Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro, Fuwa pointed out that Koizumi is enjoying a high support rate mainly because of his promise to "change the ruling Liberal Democratic Party."

From the JCP, Ogata Yasuo, JCP International Bureau director and House of Councilors member, attended the talks. (end)