ニュース 2010/02/26 Iraqi government officials pay courtesy visit to DPJ party headquarters On February 26, Vice Directors-General of the DPJ International Department Kuniko Tanioka and Harunobu Yonenaga received a courtesy visit from thirteen Iraqi government officials on a visit to Japan at DPJ party headquarters. At the start of the meeting, the Iraqi side expressed their congratulations on the DPJ victory in last year’s general election. They also touched on the subject of the Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on March 7, and expressed the expectation that, in addition to constructing a new system in order to move toward democracy in the wake of the Iraq war, they hoped to strengthen relations with Japan. They also stressed that they wanted to encourage the further engagement of Japanese corporations in resource-rich Iraq, and to develop exchanges between the governments and parliamentarians of both countries. The DPJ members explained that the change of government last year had realized a shift from bureaucrat-led government to politician-led government, and emphasized the importance of policy implementation. The Iraqi side said that they hoped to receive assistance and cooperation from Japan, and the Japanese side responded that they would like to provide such cooperation.