Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons
July 2007
Banner photo: Jozef Szentpeteri/Getty Images
Chinese Premier and SGI President Discuss Sino-Japanese Ties
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with SGI President Daisaku Ikeda at a Tokyo hotel on the afternoon of April 12. Mr. Wen was accompanied by a party of 11, including Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Wang Yi.
Mr. Ikeda (left) thanks Premier Wen, center right, for the gift of his calligraphy
[©Seikyo Shimbun]
Mr. Wen first met Mr. Ikeda in 1992 when he accompanied then President Jiang Zemin on a visit to Japan. During this most recent meeting, the Chinese premier paid tribute to Mr. Ikeda's efforts to promote friendship between the two countries and presented him a scroll of calligraphy in his own hand reading: "Creating a new path to the future through compassion, binding a good relationship through harmony."
Mr. Wen commented that his visit to Japan on this occasion had been the most difficult and most vital of all his overseas visits in recent years. He was heartened to feel the Japanese people's genuine wish for improved relations.
Mr. Ikeda praised Mr. Wen's "outstanding" speech at the Diet earlier in the day, describing it as a great and heartfelt declaration for peace and friendship between the two countries. He commented that he was reminded of Zhou Enlai--observing the same love for humanity, deep insight into history and clear vision.
For nearly four decades, Mr. Ikeda has consistently promoted friendly relations between Japan and China. He has visited China on 10 occasions, and on his second visit, in December 1974, he met with Zhou Enlai, shortly before the Chinese premier's death.
