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On February 19, a session of Café Democrats, the forum hosted by the DPJ for diplomats based in Tokyo, was held at party headquarters. Café Democrats was established in 2010 as a forum for briefing the diplomatic community on the movements and policy of the DPJ government, but this was the first meeting to be convened since the DPJ became an opposition party. DPJ International Department Director-General Kaname Tajima acted as moderator for the meeting, with President Banri Kaieda, Secretary General Akihiro Ohata, Executive Office Director-General Satoshi Arai, and International Department Vice Directors-General Yuichi Goto, Michihiro Ishibashi, and Misako Yasui.
In his opening address, Kaieda warmly welcomed the assembled diplomats, and stated, “I believe that diplomatic relations between countries are primarily based upon the creation of friendly relations between citizens and individuals. First of all, it is important for the members of the diplomatic core and the DPJ executives and DPJ Diet members here today to engage in repeated exchanges.” Following this, Secretary General Akihiro Ohata gave a report focusing on the proceedings of the recent party Convention.
The assembled diplomats expressed their appreciation regarding the re-launch of Café Democrats and asked questions regarding the DPJ’s stance toward various government policies. Kaieda commented, “Since we have become an opposition party, the number of opportunities for the media to cover our policies has dramatically decreased. They are extremely keen to cover stories regarding internal disputes in the DPJ, but coverage of our key policies has dramatically decreased.” He vowed that the party would continue to create opportunities to communicate the DPJ’s vision and policies directly to the diplomatic community.
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