Ogata and Akamine meet Bolivian ambassador

   Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ogata Yasuo and House of Representatives member Akamine Seiken on September 13 met with Bolivian Ambassador to Japan Masakatsu Ashimine at the Bolivian embassy in Tokyo.

   The ambassador is a son of emigrants that the then Ryukyu (Okinawan) Government sent to Bolivia in 1954. As Akamine is from the same village as the ambassador’s father, both keenly spoke about the history of emigration and the present situation in Okinawa.

   Ogata spoke about his visit to Bolivia in early September in which he held talks with representatives of the Evo Morales administration as well as the leadership of the governing Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). Ogata said that these talks were very fruitful.

   The ambassador welcomed the formal establishment of relations between the JCP and the Bolivian government and the governing party and said he hopes for further development of relations.                                    - Akahata, September 14, 2007