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On June 7, the 7th meeting of Café Democrats was held at DPJ party headquarters. Over 50 diplomats, including ten ambassadors, participated in the meeting.
At the start of the meeting, Secretary General Katsuya Okada commented, “Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, we have received assistance from countries around the world. Some have provided economic support, and others dispatched personnel. We are truly grateful for your assistance. People living in the disaster-affected areas have been greatly heartened by your support. I myself have also visited the disaster-stricken regions on weekends. People there are facing each day with great stoicism, in spite of their extremely difficult living conditions. The government and ruling party are working to ensure that the survivors of the disaster can escape from these conditions and lead lives that are fit for human beings. We have also somehow managed to grapple with the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas. At the start of May, a four trillion yen supplementary budget was enacted, and following that, the outline for a second supplementary budget is now being drafted. I would like us to work determinedly to overcome this massive disaster, and create a new Tohoku.”
Vice President Tomiko Okazaki, a member of the House of Councillors elected from a constituency in Miyagi Prefecture, reported on conditions in the affected areas, saying, “You cannot know how much we have been heartened by the many people from abroad who came immediately to help, and the many donations that have been received from overseas, in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. I would like to express my deep gratitude. I believe that these events have dramatically transformed the shape and direction of Japanese politics. We have been provided with an opportunity to create a society with a support network that excludes no one, and to reduce our dependence on nuclear power stations. There has also been a change in our way of thinking about what constitutes a desirable lifestyle. I feel that the number of young people who have decided to use their time off for assistance and recovery work has increased. Miyagi has set a ten-year target for achieving recovery. I would appreciate it if you could convey my words to your home countries.”
Shu Watanabe, Chair of the DPJ Disaster Volunteer Bureau, also addressed the gathering, saying, “I believe that once the situation has calmed down, we Diet members should split up into groups and visit each of your home countries to convey our gratitude for the support we have received. In the first days after the disaster, DPJ volunteers travelled every weekend to the disaster-stricken areas with materials that we had gathered, but now we are at a stage where mental and spiritual care is necessary. In addition to brute labour such as the removal of debris, we are cleaning treasured mementos such as photographs that have been covered in mud, and through cooperation with students at a college for beauticians, have provided nail care at evacuation centres. The issue from now on is how we can provide such kinds of carefully thought-out aid, and match them with local needs. I believe what is important is whether we can sustain such efforts for six months or a year. At any rate, I would like us to gather information and keep a record for posterity of how needs have changed over time.”
Reports on conditions on the ground were also made by Koji Hata, elected from Iwate No. 2 constituency in the House of Representatives, and Kazuyuki Yamaguchi, elected to the House of Representatives from the Tohoku proportional representative constituency. International Department Vice Directors-General Mieko Nakabayashi and Naoto Sakaguchi also attended.
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