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Japan-China Youth Friendship Exchange
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With students at Peking University [© Seikyo
Shimbun] |
From July 21-27,
200 Japanese Soka Gakkai youth representatives visited
Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin on an exchange visit to
promote friendship between China and Japan.
In Beijing, on July 25, the delegation met with student
representatives of Peking University and held discussions on
ways of strengthening Sino-Japanese ties, and the role that
students can play in this. The youth also shared their
personal visions of contributing to society in their chosen
fields. Members of the delegation were impressed by the
Chinese students' strong sense of responsibility to be the
driving force in the development of their society and to
promote bilateral exchanges between the two countries.
On the same day, young women members of the Japanese
delegation sponsored a Japan-China Women's Friendship
Symposium at the university on the topic of women's role in
building peace. In small group discussions, the students at
the university, along with representatives from the Women's
Research Center, the All-China Women's Federation and other
institutions, exchanged views on topics such as women's
rights, women's lifestyles and the importance of cultural
exchange.
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The Women's Friendship Symposium at Peking University
[© Seikyo
Shimbun] |
In Shanghai, the delegation met with local government
officials and visited East China Normal University. Here
chorus members and musicians among the Japanese delegation
performed songs for the students.
The impetus for the exchange visit came from a suggestion by
SGI President Ikeda during a recent meeting with China's
ambassador to Japan, Mr. Wan Yi. Mr. Ikeda's initiatives to
promote Sino-Japanese friendship and exchange date back to
the 1960s. He has placed particular emphasis on
citizen-level exchanges. Soka Gakkai and Chinese youth
delegations have been holding exchanges since 1985.
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