August 23, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko on August 22 delivered a speech at a meeting held in the Diet building between Jose Ramos-Horta, president of East Timor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a Japanese cross-party parliamentary group.

Tamura is vice chairperson of the Japanese Parliamentary Committee for a World Federation.

Tamura said, “I have great respect for East Timor’s efforts to reveal the truth about its history and to pursue a path of acceptance and reconciliation despite its extremely difficult journey to independence.”

Tamura touched on the country’s ASEAN membership, saying, “ASEAN places importance on inclusivity and dialogue, and I hope that East Timor will play a significant role in ASEAN.”

Dietmembers from the Liberal Democratic Party, the Komei Party, the Democratic Party for the People, and the Social Democratic Party were present at the meeting which was also attended by Ambassadors to Japan from ASEAN countries.