January 12, 2019

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira, an Upper House lawmaker, on January 11 attended a New Year reception in Tokyo hosted by the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan), along with representatives of each political party.

Yuh Keun-ie, the chief of the Mindan Central Head Office, delivered the New Year address and called on both Japan and South Korea to give consideration to understanding each other's viewpoint in a cool-headed manner so that deteriorating Japan-ROK relations will not lead to an increase in hate speech or anti-Korean sentiment in Japan.

Koike in his speech, by touching upon a move toward the second round of Pyongyang-Washington summit, said, "Both the Japanese and the ROK governments should work together for peace in Northeast Asia."

This year marks the centennial anniversary of the independence movement against the Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. Koike said, "Only by paying heed to history can a future-oriented Japan-ROK relationship be established."

He also said that it is vital to eradicate hate speech and grant suffrage to foreign residents with permanent residency status. Citing that the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a recommendation to the Japanese government in September of last year to give non-Japanese residents voting rights in local elections, he expressed his determination to make supra-partisan efforts to achieve this.

Apart from Koike, JCP Kasai Akira, Kokuta Keiji, Motomura Nobuko (House of Representatives members), and Kira Yoshiko (a House of Councilors member) were present at this gathering. They exchanged greetings with South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Su-hoon and the leader of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, Kang Chang-il, as well as Mindan head Yuh Keun-ie.

Past related article:
> JCP Koike at Korean party offers his wishes for success of Winter Games in PyeongChang [January 13, 2018]