|
On October 21, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa received a courtesy call from US Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos at party headquarters. The two agreed that in order to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, it was necessary to increase the relationship of trust both between the leadership of the two nations and at the grassroots level.
During the meeting, Ozawa referred to the running of the Hatoyama administration, saying, “I will take responsibility for the administration of the party, and the general administration will be carried out by the government. That is the division of roles that has been decided. I would like to ask for your understanding on this point.” Roos said, “I will respect your position.”
The Ambassador went on to refer to Ozawa’s private initiative which involves regularly inviting elementary students from a Chicago school to Japan, saying, “This is an extremely welcome [project]. We need to deepen Japan-US relations through engaging in these kinds of educational initiatives. This is something I am sure that President Obama himself would also welcome, and I would like to inform him of this.” He also referred to the grassroots exchange activities carried out by the John Manjiro Whitfield Center for Commemorative Exchange, in which Ozawa plays a leading role, saying, “If I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
In response, Ozawa said, “I think that you can understand from the efforts I am making with such Japan-US exchange projects that I consider the Japan-US relationship to be of the utmost importance, and that I am extremely fond of the American people. Although I sometimes make harsh comments, I would like you all to believe these points.” He went on to refer to the need to further strengthen Japan-US relations, saying, “Whatever the issue is, it would be better for the US side also to speak frankly. The DPJ administration would also like to try to speak directly and frankly.” Roos said, “Separating policy and politics, I would like to create a relationship where one-to-one dialogue can take place if necessary. I believe it is necessary for the leaders of both countries to create a close relationship.”
|
(2).jpg)
(2).jpg)