On October 26, DP President Renho met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Joon-gyu, at party headquarters.
At the start of the meeting, Lee expressed his congratulations to Renho on her appointment as DP President. In response, Renho conveyed her appreciation for these sentiments and stated, “I would like to build a friendly relationship between Japan and the ROK that includes exchanges between political parties.”
The Ambassador said that the ROK welcomed the exchanges with young DP Diet members who had participated last month in an invitation program organized by the ROK government, and expressed his hope that such exchanges would continue.
Lee spoke about his visit to Kochi Prefecture as part of the Korea-Japan Culture Caravan, and Deputy Secretary General Yuichiro Tamaki commented, “We would like to deepen exchanges not only between the capital cities of Tokyo and Seoul, but also between regional cities in both countries.”
Renho commented, “Young Japanese love Korean cosmetics brands. I would like us to strengthen these kind of new cultural connections.” Lee said, “In order to make Korean-Japan relations robust, not only should we strengthen tourism, but also people-to-people exchanges.”
DP Next Minister of Defense Yoichiro Aoyagi explained, “I was invited to the ROK last month on the program organized by your Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Government officials that we met with expressed the opinion that in consideration of future generations political diplomacy spearheaded by young lawmakers is necessary.”
At the close of the meeting, Renho and Lee promised to continue
to deepen friendly relations.
Photo: President Renho shakes hands with Ambassador Lee