Tokyo: Representative Dr. Tsewang Gyalpo Arya of the Liaison Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama for Japan and East Asia led a Tibetan delegation to address and brief the members of bipartisan Japan Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet on the Tibet issue, precisely on the CCP’s religious repression and interference in the reincarnation of the Tibetan masters, colonial boarding schools, the recent ethnic unity and progress law, environmental destruction and damming of the Tibetan rivers. The briefing was held at the Japanese Lower House Parliament building conference hall at Nagatacho, Tokyo.

The delegations consisted of Representative Dr. Arya of the Tibet Office; Dr. Gyal Lo, and Tibetan Lawmaker Dorjee Tsetan of the Tibet Action Institute; Dr. Lobsang Yangtso of the International Tibet Network; Tsering Dorjee of the Students for Free Tibet Japan; Ms. Jyotsana Mehra of the Closed Door Consulting; Tashi Yangzom and Hasegawa Naoko of the Tibet House Japan. Sam Yip and Ririko Toki accompanied the delegation as translators.

Lawmaker Yamatani Eriko, Chairperson of the Japan Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, presided over the meeting, and General Secretary Ishikawa Akimasa moderated the briefing. Around 24 lawmakers and their representatives attended the meeting. Some media members were also present to cover the briefing.

Representative Dr. Arya thanked the lawmakers for the briefing opportunity and informed them of the critical situation in Tibet, where the CCP regime is aggressively implementing a harsh policy to sever any forms of communication between Tibetans in and outside Tibet. He briefed them on how the regime’s interference in the Tibetan religious matters, including the selection of H.H. the Dalai Lama, will adversely affect the security of Japan, India, and other Indo-Pacific regions. Japanese translation of the report “Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and Geo-politics of the Reincarnation” was shared with the lawmakers.

Furthermore, Representative Arya introduced and explained the gist of the Michael Van Walt Paraag and Miek Boltjes’ book, “Tibet Explained,” and Prof. Hon-Shiang Lau’s “Tibet was never part of China since antiquity” and urged the lawmakers to be more assertive in rebutting the CCP regime that Tibet is an internal affair of China. The books were presented to the Chairperson Yamatani Eriko for reference.

Dr. Gyal Lo, an educational sociologist and leading expert on China’s assimilation and education policies in Tibet, spoke about China’s colonial boarding schools and the recent Ethnic Unity and Progress law. He submitted a written report on the subjects and explained how the Tibetan children are denied their fundamental right to their mother tongue and religious culture, and how the regime is planning to erase Tibetan identity through the Ethnic Unity Law. The Japanese version of the report on colonial boarding schools was distributed to the lawmakers.

Dr. Lobsang Yangtso of the International Tibet Network presented a report, “China’s dam construction in Tibet and the environment”. She explained how the Chinese activities on the Tibetan plateau are posing a grave threat to the existence and survival of the riparian countries below. She warned that if Tibet’s water is controlled by a single authoritative power, without accountability and transparency, Asia’s water future will be in danger of being weaponized.

Both Dr. Gyal Lo and Dr. Lobsang Yangtso, in their respective written reports, proposed and requested steps and actions from lawmakers to save the Tibetan Plateau for the peace, stability, and prosperity of Asia and the world.

The lawmakers expressed concerns over the colonial boarding schools, the ethnic unity law, and the damming of the Tibetan rivers. Dr. Gyal Lo and Dr. Yangtso answered the questions from the lawmakers.

Chairperson Yamatani Eriko thanked the Tibetan delegations for their presentations and said that they greatly helped enrich the understanding of the Tibet issue. She said that the Parliamentary League is committed to doing everything in their power to help address the Tibet issue. General Secretary Ishikawa thanked the delegations and assured full support of the bipartisan parliamentary league.

Representative Dr. Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, on behalf of the Office, offered khatas, Tibetan scarves, to Yamatani Eriko, who was reelected as the Chairperson of the League, and to the new and outgoing General Secretaries, Ishikawa Akimasa and Yamada Hiroshi, respectively.