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On September 27, in the first meeting of the DPJ Standing Officers Council under the Noda Cabinet, Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi addressed the assembled members, who included former Prime Ministers Hata, Hatoyama and Kan, stressing the importance of party unity and of furthering party-to-party exchanges. A translation of his opening remarks is as follows:
This is the first meeting of the Standing Officers Council since the formation of the new Noda administration. As you can see from the membership of this Council, this is a non-partisan line-up, capable of meeting face-to-face and uniting both in spirit and power for the sake of the party. I will also do my utmost, and I ask you all for your cooperation in working together. In two years time there will be elections for both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. In regard to these, I have just held discussions with Election Campaign Committee Chair [Yoshiaki] Takaki to discuss starting to build the framework to enable the DPJ government to continue.
On another note, next year is a year in which we may see changes of leadership in countries such as the United States, China and Russia. In order for the party to cooperate with the administration in diplomatic matters, I believe we should promote exchanges between political parties and between politicians. First of all, in order for us to promote exchanges next year, which marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, I would like to relaunch the “Japan-China Exchange and Discussion Framework”, and to consider making a visit to China before the end of the year. In order to realise these goals, I would like to ask for the assistance of the Supreme Advisors and Vice Presidents. I would also like to promote exchanges with other regions.
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