Yamaguchi: Latin America trip highly fruitful

September 9 , 2016

Yamaguchi at Narita International Airport just before his departure to three Latin American countries on Aug. 30Yamaguchi at Narita International Airport just before his departure to three Latin American countries on Aug. 30

In an interview in party organ daily Komei Shimbun, Komeito Chief Representative Natsuo Yamaguchi spoke on his goodwill visit to the three republics of Cuba, Colombia and Panama—the first-ever to Latin America by the political party—from August 30 to September 8. Yamaguchi said the visit was a highly productive one in that it expanded the scope of Komeito’s peace diplomacy, enabling him to meet face-to-face with senior government officials of those three nations.

Regarding his visit to Cuba, Yamaguchi said following normalization of diplomatic ties with the United States in 2015, Cuba has begun to take steps to reinvigorate its economy, which Japan can actively aid and assist in order to enhance the quality of its citizens’ lives. As for Colombia, he explained that Japan should play a major role in the removal of landmines planted in that country during a period of civil strife and domestic violence that continued for more than a half-century. He also stated that Panama has gained even greater strategic importance for Japan and world with the Panama Canal’s expansion opening in June. He pledged that Komeito would be taking part in Diet hearings in Japan as well as allocating budgets to provide economic and humanitarian assistance to the three countries.

During his ten-day trip, Yamaguchi met with President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama, President Juan Manuel Santos and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla.