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On May 24, the 6th session of the DPJ Open Forum “Voices from the World” was held with guest speaker Christian Masset, the Ambassador of France to Japan, at the DPJ Party Headquarters. At the start of the meeting, Chair of the DPJ’s Administration Committee Hideo Hiraoka made a welcome speech and expressed his appreciation to Masset for kindly agreeing to participate in the forum. Hideoka also said, “Today, we would like to hear from the Ambassador about how the Socialist Party, elected for the first time in 17 years, will come up with new policies, and also about the future relationship between Japan and France.”
Masset talked about the future relationships of France with the U.S.A, Middle East and North Korea. Also regarding the EU, he introduced President Francois Hollande’s statement that the EU needs to reduce its budget deficit and that each country is required to recover its own economic growth. Also Masset stated that the new French cabinet would like to build a special and grounded relationship with Japan and said, “Japan and France share many values such as freedom, democracy, and human rights, and we must protect these together.” Following his speech, Masset engaged in a lively discussion with participating Diet members concerning European financial policies, French nuclear policies and the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.
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