On the afternoon of February 27, Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama met and exchanged opinions with Gunter Gloser, the German Minister of State for Europe, Dr. Bernd Fischer, Minister of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and other German officials. The DPJ members attending the meeting included Director-General of the International Department Tetsundo Iwakuni, House of Representatives members Tenzo Okumura, Motohisa Ikeda and Jin Matsubara and House of Councillors member Tsutomu Okubo.

At the start of the meeting, Secretary General Hatoyama made welcoming remarks during which he revealed that the Lake Toya, Hokkaido G8 summit, slated in July, "will be held in my constituency". Hatoyama then expressed respect for Germany's proposed measures to combat global warming and called on Germany to show further leadership on environmental issues. He added that "as Japan is the host of the G8 summit, we must send out more definite messages". Hatoyama also asked about the arrangements that were put in place to establish a coalition government in Germany.

Gunter Gloser, the German Minister of State for Europe, responded that the coalition was formed following an election in September 2005 at which neither the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) nor the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP) secured a majority. He explained that as there had only been a grand coalition government in Germany once before, between 1966 and 1969, the current situation is "in that sense unusual".

Under the grand coalition, both parties have the same number of ministers, but the CDU, who won more seats, selected the Prime Minister. Mr. Gloser said that the grand coalition had succeeded in generating an economic recovery, which had reduced the unemployment rate to 8%, and improved the fiscal situation to the point that the government is now expecting to avoid issuing new bonds for the first time in 2011.
He said, "When we raised the rate of value added tax from 16% to 19%, we were criticised by many voters" but explained how with hindsight, the decision was an appropriate one as it was "a necessary fiscal step to reduce the level of government debt."

In response to a query about how the DPJ, as opposition party plans to try and take government, Secretary General Hatoyama replied "we plan to force the government to dissolve the House of Representatives during the ordinary session of the Diet, and take power at the subsequent general election". He said that the party planned to draw public opinion towards support for an election by vigorously debating various issues in the Diet including the incorporation into the general budget of revenues from gasoline and other road related taxes, the abolishment of the provisional gasoline tax rate, a resolution to Japan's pension problems, economic issues and problems surrounding the continuing series of scandals at the Ministry of Defense.

(08/02/27)