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On June 8, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada received a courtesy call from a delegation led by the President of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies, Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin, and discussed the further enhancement of the bilateral relationship. The meeting was also attended by International Department Vice Director-General Mieko Nakabayashi.
At the start of the meeting, Okada expressed his appreciation for the great assistance Japan had received from Mexico in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, including both the dispatch of a rescue team and of material assistance. He also thanked Ramirez for taking the time to visit the city of Asahi in the disaster-affected region.
Ramirez said that through his visit to Asahi he had “been able to confirm that the Mexican assistance had been provided in a prompt and appropriate manner. The exemplary conduct being demonstrated by Japan on the road to recovery should be a lesson for the world. Moreover, through my exchanges with survivors, I felt that the Japanese are a people with a great sense of solidarity. In the 1985 Mexican earthquake, we were able to dispatch material aid promptly, but the inadequacy of the psychological support provided [at that time] is a source of regret.” Furthermore, Ramirez said that friendly relations between Mexico and Japan stretch back 400 years, commenting, “It seems the relationship we have with Japan is the only example of its kind in the world. I am convinced that we can develop exchanges in a wide variety of fields, including academic exchanges, and not stop with just economic and trade relations, thereby creating a closer and stronger bilateral relationship.”
In response, Okada said, “Our countries have a long friendship, and I hope that we will be able to maintain and develop this in future,” and the meeting ended in a convivial atmosphere.
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