Japan Press Weekly

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2011 November 23 - 29 [JCP]

Shii visits South Korea

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on November 27 attended a reception hosted by the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians’ Union held in Seoul to welcome its Japanese counterpart members.

The JCP chair is visiting Seoul to take part in a joint annual meeting of the two nations’ parliamentarian groups.

At the reception, Korean parliamentarians group chair Lee Sang Deuk referring to the return of Korean royal assets said that various issues will be solved if the two groups work together.

Shii meets with South Korean president

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on November 28 took part in a series of events in Seoul, including talks with the South Korean president.

In an annual meeting jointly held by the Japan-Korea and the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians’ Unions, 60 lawmakers of the two unions participated in five committees under themes of national security and foreign affairs, economy and science technology, society and culture, legal status, and future relations. They discussed various issues, such as North Korea’s nuclear development and suffrage for Korean residents in Japan, which are concerns the two governments need to resolve or work on together.

The two unions agreed to “cooperate in every possible field to enhance a closer partnership between the two countries in the 21st century.” They also adopted a joint statement.

In the talks between President Lee Myong Bak and delegates of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians’ Union at the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, Shii said that all JCP Dietmembers joined the union and he became the union’s vice chair. He also said, “I’m really glad about the return of Korean royal assets for which Japanese lawmakers have made joint efforts regardless of their political affiliation. Only if Japan addresses historical issues, will the two countries be able to build real friendship into the future”

Later on the same day at a hotel in Seoul, on behalf of the Japanese parliamentarians’ group, chair Watanabe Kozo and Shii met with Kim Hwang Sik (Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea), Park Hee Tae (Speaker of the ROK National Assembly), and Lee Sang Deuk (Chair of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians’ Union).

Responding to questions about JCP policies and positions from Park and other Korean lawmakers, Shii explained about the JCP’s view in regard to the private property system and the market economy.

On the previous day, Shii met with a civic group which has waged a movement to regain Korean cultural assets, including royal protocols of the Joseon Dynasty, which were taken away from Korea during Japan’s colonial rule.