ニュース 2014/06/25 Former Thai Deputy Prime Minister meets with Secretary General Ohata On June 25, a delegation from the Democratic Party of Thailand, led by former Deputy Prime Minister Banyat Badtadtan, visited party headquarters and met with Secretary General Akihiro Ohata. At the start of the meeting Ohata welcomed the delegation, and commented, "I visited Thailand once around 20 years ago, but since then you have succeeded in achieving tremendous economic development. However, I also hear that the political situation in your country is now highly charged." He expressed his hopes that the current situation would be resolved as soon as possible. Following this the two sides exchanged views on a wide range of issues including strengthening bilateral cooperation on disaster-prevention measures and the response to the ageing of society, Thai students studying in Japan and vice-versa, as well as exchanges between educational institutions. The meeting was also attended by Acting Secretary General Masaharu Nakagawa and International Department Vice Director-General Michihiro Ishibashi.