JCP Chair Shii holds talks with India's House Speaker Joshi

The Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo held talks with Shri Manohar Joshi, Speaker of India's Lok Sabha (the House of People), in New Delhi on December 17.

Shii opened his remarks by stating, "I am glad to visit India in the year of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-India relations." He was referring to the historical fact that the Indian government concluded a peace treaty with Japan independently in 1952 after refraining from taking part in the previous year's San Francisco Peace Conference of 1951. "This is why this '50th anniversary' is very significant for the JCP," he said.

Shii emphasized that the JCP and India's government took the same attitude toward the U.S. "peace with Japan." He said, "I was impressed by the Indian government statement announcing that it will not take part in the San Francisco Treaty." The reason the Indian government gave for that decision was that the treaty was aimed at suppressing the freedom of the Japanese people and that China and the Soviet Union were not party to the San Francisco Treaty.

Referring to the role India has been playing in the movement of non-aligned countries, Shii said, "The JCP has expressed solidarity with the non-aligned movement and envisages a future Japan as part of the movement." "The JCP and India share the basic principle of non-alignment," Shii added.

Welcoming Shii's statement as of great significance, Joshi stated that Japan and India have maintained friendly relations politically and economically for a long time. India is expecting that mutual relations will be developed further, and exchanges will be promoted between lawmakers of both countries, he said. (end)