By Tenzin Tsetan
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 14: Japanese legislators have announced the formation of ‘All Party Japanese Parliamentary Group for Tibet’ at a conference attended by parliamentarians from various Japanese political parties at the parliament building this Wednesday.
The conference saw a total number of 58 MPs from the House of Representatives and 24 parliamentarians from the House of Councilors in attendance.
Mr Shimomura Hakubun, president of the parliamentarians’ support group for Tibet, addressed the gathering, thanking the members for their efforts, which led to the development of the support group.
He also thanked the parliament members for hosting His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the parliament during his visit to Japan last month. Mr. Hakubun talked about his visit to Dharamshala to meet the Dalai Lama and learn about the Tibetan govt. in exile.
Ms. Yoshiko Sakurai, president of Japanese Institute of National fundamentals congratulated the parliamentarians on the formations of support group for Tibet and emphasized the need of support the Tibet cause.
“The culture and Buddhist religion of Tibet has tremendous potential and relevance to the promotion of peace and non-violence in the world”, said Ms. Sakurai. She stated that Japan has great ability to support the Tibet issue as both countries share similar faith and can contribute to affirm principles of peace and non-violence.
Addressing the members, Mr. Lungtok, Representative of His Holiness for East Asia put forth words of gratitude to the parliament members on behalf of the Tibetan govt. in exile and Tibetan people for extending their support to the cause of Tibet.
Mr. Lungtok talked about relentless struggles of Tibetans in resolving the Tibet issue through dialogues with the Chinese govt. under the Dalai Lama’s guidance. He also spoke about threats to the cultural and religious identity, which Tibet continues to face under China.
The Tibetan representative extended his appreciations to Japan and other countries for their continuing support. The office of Tibet presented books on Tibet to the Japanese MPs at the meeting.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama who spoke to members of the new parliamentary support group for Tibet in Japanese Parliament during his visit in November said that their support ‘represents a universal commitment to justice and truth’.
