ニュース 2009/12/11 Ozawa makes speech at Seoul National University On December 11, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, on an unofficial visit to the Republic of Korea, gave a speech entitled, “A New Japan-Korea Relationship and Nurturing the Leaders who will Bring it to Fruition” to an audience of around 300 Japan studies students at Seoul National University. He revealed his vision for the creation of a “true cooperative relationship” in which Japan and the Republic of Korea would fulfil an historic mission for the sake of the peace and security of North-East Asia and the world as a whole. Ozawa went on to emphasise that in order to achieve this, both countries should nurture leaders in a variety of fields, and the younger generation should have high inspirations and play a leading role in the new era. He expressed his intention of using the opportunity provided by this speech to further a project involving exchanges between the youth of both countries. This was the first time that a Japanese politician had made a speech at a Korean university. Ozawa’s speech lasted for approximately 2 hours, and was covered by approximately 50 members of the press corps from both nations. In his speech, Ozawa said “I hope that my speech to you all will provide an opportunity for long-lasting friendship and cooperation between our nations.” He also commented on Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula, saying it was “An historical fact for which the Japanese nation and the Japanese people should apologise” and went on to say, “Just continuing to repeat this one point will be of no benefit for the future of both our nations. If we look back over the long history of both our nations, we can see our relationship is not one that can be defined by the label of occupier and occupied. The Japanese people and the Korean people must both fix their minds on this fact.” Ozawa went on to point out the facts of exchanges that existed between Japan and Korea during the reigns of Emperor Jinmu, Emperor Nintoku and Emperor Kanmu. Ozawa went on to emphasise that “The youth who bear our future in our hands should think seriously about what role both nations should play, while recognizing the long history we share.” With regard to historical issues, Ozawa stated the need for “China, which has had a huge impact on the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, and Japan and the Republic of Korea to create a relationship of trust and cooperation.” He said that the reason for this was that “Just the fact that neighbouring nations in North-East Asia have different political systems and economic frameworks, makes this the region in which the elements of instability are proliferating most out of all the world’s regions. Japan, the Republic of Korea and China must work to make this a stable region.” Ozawa went on to say, “I would like the youth of both nations to strengthen their friendship, bearing this sense of being on a historic mission.” He touched on the fact that he himself was endeavouring to nurture a new generation of leaders in Japan through the Ozawa Political School and lectures at Kyoto University, and called on the Korean side to take action, saying, “I would like you all to take the lead in Korea, and I hope you can all develop into leaders who can be of help to each other.”