Tokyo (JAPAN) 08 December 2019 (SPS)– Japanese supporters of the Saharawi people’s legitimate struggle constituted a Bipartisan Parliamentarian group, on Friday morning, under the name of “Western Sahara Japanese Members of Parliament Association”, at the Parliamentarians’ Hall in Tokyo.
The group is initiated by three Japanese parliamentarians, mainly Mr. Hiroshi Hase, former Minister of Education and the chief organizer of 2020 Tokyo Olympic, who is also the Deputy Secretary-General of Liberal Democratic Party in power, Mr. Hiroyuki Yoshiie, former Vice Minister of Education and Vice Minister of Justice (Liberal Democratic Party) and Mr. Mito Kakizawa, Independent Congressman, who visited the Refugee Camps on the 8th January 2015.
The meeting was attended by 10 Parliamentarians from various parties and 6 officers representing the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who attended as observers, mainly the Director of First Section of Africa, the Vice Director of First Section of Africa, Chief Officer of International Humanitarian Cooperation, Vice Chief Officer of IHC, Chief Officer of First Section of the Middle East and Chief Examiner of the Middle East, specially Maghreb.
During the discussions that marked the event, the President of the «Western Sahara Japanese MP Association», Mr. Hiroshi Hase, asked the representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about Japan’s relations with the Government of the Saharawi Republic and if it was familiar with the situation in Western Sahara.
Surprisingly enough, the Ministry officials recognized that they have no contacts with the Saharawi authorities nor with Polisario, and that they are indeed getting all information on the conflict from the Moroccan authorities of occupation in Western Sahara, which was considered by the Japanese Parliamentarians highly inappropriate and irrelevent.
In the end of the event, the Western Sahara Japanese MP Association and the Sahara Japan Journalist Association, which was presented by Mrs. Hirata Itsuku, hoped to see the people of Western Sahara enjoying their right to Self-Determination one day, expressing their commitment to work within Japan to raise awareness about this last case of decolonization in Africa. (SPS)