On December 3, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa participated in an informal exchange with a group of students from Langston Hughes elementary school in Chicago, in Japan to participate in the “21st Century Dream Project”. This project is a personal grassroots initiative of Ozawa.

Ozawa expressed his pleasure at the group’s arrival in Japan and welcomed them warmly, saying, “I hope that you will use this opportunity to make as many [Japanese] friends as possible, as well as seeing many places and coming to understand about Japanese society and culture.”

At the gathering, each of the 15 students introduced him or herself and shook hands with Ozawa. Sixth grader Justine said, “My dream is to become a doctor” to which Ozawa responded “Go for it!” with a smile.

The “21st Century Dream Project” came about in 2000 when Ozawa paid a visit to Langston Hughes elementary school, and promised to invite students studying Japanese at the school to Japan in order to deepen their understanding of Japanese society and culture. In January of 2001 a committee to realize this goal was formed, with Ozawa as its head. The first visit took place in June of 2001, and this is the sixth time students from the school have visited Japan. The project was temporarily suspended following the September 11 terrorist attacks, but apart from this hiatus, around 20 students from the school, ranging from the third to eighth grade, visit Japan for around a week each year in order to experience its society and culture at first hand.