ニュース 2014/04/16 Kaieda, Sakurai address meeting of Café Democrats On April 16, a meeting of Café Democrats, the briefing and discussion forum hosted by the DPJ for diplomats stationed in Tokyo, was held at party headquarters. At the start of the meeting, President Banri Kaieda expressed his deep concern regarding the situation in the east of the Ukraine. He went on to report on his recent visit to the United States, saying, “The point that I emphasized in all the meetings was that the peace and stability of East Asia is extremely important. Of course, seen from the perspective of the peace and stability of East Asia, Japan’s relationship with the United States is also extremely important. Currently, there are some issues upon which Japan cannot make concessions in our relations with the Republic of Korea and China, but as neighbouring countries, we have no other choice but to live together and flourish together. I would like to work to build trust with Japan’s neighbouring countries based on a correct understanding of history, and to establish future-oriented relationships with the ROK and China.” Kaieda also stressed, “The DPJ has an extremely important role to play in Japan’s mature democracy.” Following this, Policy Research Committee Chair Mitsuru Sakurai introduced the DPJ’s economic policies, explaining the main direction of the party’s policies in this area and the differences with the Abe administration with the aid of handouts which displayed various sets of statistics. The meeting was moderated by International Department Director General Kaname Tajima and Vice Director-General Misako Yasui. In addition to Kaieda and Sakurai, Secretary General Akihiro Ohata, Executive Office Director-General Satoshi Arai, and International Department Vice Directors-General Naoki Kazama, Yuichi Goto, Michihiro Ishibashi, and Motohiro Ono also participated for the DPJ.