The Poetic Heart: Connecting Humanity
January 2008
Banner photo: ©Natural Selection Craig Tuttle/Design Pics/Corbis
China-Japan Normalization Commemorated
The China National Acrobatic Troupe
[Min-On]
On September 27, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the China-Japan Friendship Association and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in Beijing cohosted a grand reception commemorating the 35th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
A Soka Gakkai delegation led by Toshiyuki Mitsugi, senior adviser, attended the festivities, together with some 600 representatives from the two countries. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, President of the China-Japan Friendship Association Song Jian, and former Japanese Prime Ministers Yoshiro Mori and Tomiichi Murayama were among the attendees. Prior to the reception, Mr. Mitsugi conveyed a congratulatory message to Premier Wen Jiabao from SGI President Daisaku Ikeda.
At the reception, various Chinese officials greeted the Soka Gakkai delegates and expressed their appreciation for Mr. Ikeda's longstanding contributions to friendship between the two countries.
To mark the anniversary, the Soka Gakkai-affiliated Min-On Concert Association sponsored a tour of Japan by 51 members of the China National Acrobatic Troupe with 114 performances in 61 cities throughout the country from September to December.
On September 22, one week prior to the anniversary reception, a public recitation of Mr. Ikeda's poems and writings was held at Peking University Hall as a gesture of bilateral friendship. Students from Peking University and Soka University presented a total of 19 poems and essays.
