Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > July, 2005

Junior Reporters from Okinawa Pay Courtesy Call on the Prime Minister Wednesday, July 27, 2005 JAPANESE Click photographs to enlarge Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a courtesy call at the Prime Minister's Official Residence from 40 junior reporters from Okinawa. Selected from the pool of elementary and junior high school students in Okinawa Prefecture, the "Okinawan Junior Reporters" are actively promoting youth exchanges, connecting Okinawa and the mainland through news gathering activities in various regions on the mainland. It is also aiming for the sound development of youths. After Mr. Hiroki Miyazato, a sixth grade student from Maejima Elementary School in Naha City, performed an Okinawan dance of "Hatomabushi," Miss Kanae Higa, a third year student at Kitanakagusuku Junior High School, said as a representative, "In our daily lives, we pay attention to the issues of Okinawa concerning the US military bases and the environment and constantly think about them. As junior reporters, we will go afield and visit places such as Tokyo and Hokkaido, to directly hear about various issues including the Northern Territories issue and try to understand them firsthand. Furthermore, through this valuable week-long experience, we wish to expand our circle of friendship, deepen our exchanges through many encounters and meetings, and build our strength both mentally and physically in order to become respectable adults." In response, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "Studying at your desk is important, but learning while playing is equally valuable. Like in the saying 'study hard and play hard,' there are also things that you can learn only outside of the classroom. By the time you all become college students, there will be a world-class graduate school in Okinawa. I ask that in your daily lives you start thinking hard about what you can do to draw out the best of your talents and skills."