On June 17, a meeting of the briefing and exchange forum for diplomats, Café Democrats, was held at party headquarters.  The Chair of the DP Special Committee on key policies for the Upper House election, Deputy President Akira Nagatsuma, briefed approximately 40 members of the diplomatic corps, including 3 ambassadors, on the party’s electoral platform, The Democratic Party’s Priority Policies: Our Promise to the People.
Following opening remarks by International Department Director-General Yukihisa Fujita, Nagatsuma gave an overview of the party’s priority policies.  In particular, he explained that two pledges; (1) we will rebuild the economy and people’s lives and (2) we will protect the pacifist principles of the Constitution, were included as the two main pillars of the platform, and pointed out that growing inequalities and skewed distribution of wealth and opportunities were preventing people from reaching their full potential and obstructing personal consumption, and the fact that Prime Minister Abe had not dealt with this was the biggest issue.

International Department Vice Director-General Hiroe Makiyama, who also serves as a member of the DP Special Committee on key policies for the Upper House election, explained about the party’s women’s policies, including strategies for dealing with nursery waitlists and women’s employment issues. 

A vigorous discussion then followed, with the participating diplomats asking questions regarding electoral cooperation between the opposition parties and the issue of revising Article 9 of the Constitution, and commenting frankly about the empowerment of women.

PDF「The Democratic Party’s Priority Policies Our Promise to the People (Tentative)」The Democratic Party’s Priority Policies Our Promise to the People (Tentative)