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On April 22, DPJ Vice President Katsuya Okada received a delegation from the New Zealand parliament led by Speaker Dr. Lockwood Smith and discussed a variety of issues, including measures for dealing with the economic crisis, and for preventing global warming. The meeting was also attended by DPJ members of the House of Representatives Issei Koga, Tenzo Okumura, Ryuzo Sasaki and Hiroshi Ogushi.
At the start of the meeting, Okada welcomed the delegation, in Japan at the invitation of Speaker of the House of Representatives Yohei Kono, to DPJ party headquarters. He also referred to a meeting he had had previously with then Prime Minister Helen Clark, and to the change of government that had taken place in New Zealand in 2008.
During the meeting, the two sides held a vigorous discussion regarding the response to the current economic crisis. Okada commented on the Japanese government’s supplementary budget, and economic and trade policy, saying “economic measures are extremely important. Japan is facing an extremely serious situation.” He went on to point out that, “the majority [of the government’s economic measures] will have little impact” and expressed the opinion that they were vote-pleasing measures prior to the election. He also commented on the impact the measures would have on future fiscal reconstruction, charging that “the total amount of government bonds issued this year looks likely to exceed tax revenues.”
Okada also referred to the two countries’ efforts toward the prevention of global warming, mentioning that although we had now entered a period in which cuts in greenhouse gas emissions had been promised under the Kyoto Protocol, in fact if the situation is considered in view of the 2012 targets, last year’s emissions needed to have been cut by 6%, but in fact they increased by 6%. Okada stressed, “This is extremely disheartening, but we must ensure that we do not have a situation where the Kyoto Protocol is not observed.”
Okada also mentioned the fact that the DPJ was intending to propose a Basic Law for Countermeasures on Global Warming in the near future that would include a greenhouse gas emission target of “reducing emissions by 25% by 2020 in comparison with 1990 levels”, and explained the differences with the ruling parties on this issue. Koga also stressed the need for political leadership on this issue.
Smith commented on the “frank and thorough explanation of [the DPJ] stance” that he had received. The meeting ended on a cordial note, with the two sides shaking hands to reaffirm their determination to further develop the friendly bilateral relationship between Japan and New Zealand, including parliamentary exchanges.
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