By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers
DPJ Heads To China And South Korea
The Democratic Party
of Japan doesn’t travel light. Mainichi Shimbun reports: That democratic Party
of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa won’t be lonely when he heads to
China and South Korea on Thursday, as he’s taking an entourage of about 630
people with him. The group, including DPJ supporters and 143 fellow DPJ Diet
members, ...
Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ) acting leader Ichiro Ozawa answers questions at the party's
election campaign headquarters in Tokyo on August 30, 2009. The DPJ, led by
Yukio Hatoyama is set to romp to a landslide win, taking more than 300 seats in
the 480-seat lower house of parliament, national media polls have predicted.
Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa won’t be lonely when he heads to
China and South Korea on Thursday, as he’s taking an entourage of about 630
people with him.
The group, including
DPJ supporters and 143 fellow DPJ Diet members, will accompany Ozawa while
he’s in China to meet with President Hu Jintao. Ozawa will continue to South
Korea alone for a dinner meeting with President Lee Myung-bak
on Friday, but overall the trip looks to solidify the impression of Japan’s
regime change both in and outside the country, as well as emphasize Ozawa’s
political power.
143 Diet members is
about a third of the party’s entire delegation. Imagine 100 Democratic members
of Congress all going on one foreign trip. Ozawa also hopes to discuss an
exchange program between the DPJ and the Chinese Communist Party during the
visit.
The DPJ came into
power promising a closer relationship with China and a Japanese foreign policy
that was more oriented toward the country’s Asian neighbors. Ozawa’s
mega-junket certainly seems like a pretty big statement to that end.
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