 JCP Fuwa attends Thai New Year ceremony Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo on April 16 attended a reception held at the Thai ambassador's residence in Tokyo to celebrate the Thai New Year (Songkran Festival). Offering New Year's greetings to Thai Ambassador to Japan Suvidhya Simaskul, Fuwa said, "I had a good meeting with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and other Thai government officials during the International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Beijing last September." The ambassador expressed hope that there will be further occasions for JCP leaders to meet with Thai government officials. The Songkran Festival is a Thai traditional event in which people wash Buddha statues and juniors reverentially wet elders's palms with holy water. (Akahata April 17, 2005) |