Tokyo: Kalon Norzin Dolma of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) reached Tokyo on the morning of 10 July 2023. Representative Dr Arya Tsewang Gyalpo and the staff of the Tibet House Japan and Tibetan community members received Kalon at the Haneda airport. This is Kalon’s first visit to the land of the rising sun.
In the first leg of her official tour, Kalon visited the Tibet House Japan’s office at Nishiochai, Shinjukuu, and discussed the office matters and the schedule ahead with Representative Arya and the staff.
In the afternoon, Kalon met with the members of the Tibet Support Group at the office and thanked them for their continued support of the Tibet issue. Some of the members had come all the way from Hiroshima, Kyoto, Okayama, and Osaka. Kalon briefed the members on the goal and vision of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA): to restore freedom in Tibet and to develop the capacity of the Tibetans to continue our movement. She explained the Middle Way Approach and the vibrant democracy in exile. “China may be strong but lacks moral rights, whereas Tibetans may be weak in terms of military power, but we are strong in compassion and moral rights,” she said.
Makino Seishu, a former lawmaker and incumbent chairman of the Save Tibet Network, welcomed Kalon and apprised her of the situation of Tibet support groups in Japan and how all of them are committed to following the path adopted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to resolve the Tibet issue. He further explained how he got associated with the Tibet movement since his high school days.
Nagao Takashi, former General Secretary of the Japan Parliament Support Group for Tibet spoke on the two promises that the Parliamentary members have made to His Holiness the Dalai Lama: first to make the Parliamentary support group for Tibet gain political support for the Tibet issue and the second to work on means to provide logistic support to sustain the Tibetan community. He informed Kalon that the Parliament members have achieved some level of success with more than a hundred members in the support group but the contribution in the financial aspect has been modest.
Rev. Kobayashi Shuei of the Super Sangha, Rev. Ryokyu Endo of the Flame of Hope, Nomura Shojiro of the Manjushri Mahayana Buddhist Association, Kanrui Chizuru of the Japan Tibet Friendship Association, Fujita Yuko of the Students for Free Tibet, Kameda Hirofumi of the Dreams for Children, Lobsang Yishe of the Tibetan Community in Japan and other members in attendance all welcomed Kalon and spoke of their experiences and association with the Tibet issue and promised to work for the resolution of the Tibet-China conflict under the guidance of H.H. the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration.
Kalon Norzin Dolma will be in Japan for a week during which she will meet Parliament members, deliver talks at Universities and Mongol-Tibet’s Cultural and Religious Symposium at Tokyo University, and attend a press conference and a book release and meet the Tibetan community in Japan.
–Report filed by the Office of Tibet, Japan