Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > July, 2006

Japan-Dominican Republic Summit Meeting Monday, July 3, 2006 JAPANESE Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a meeting with His Excellency Dr. Leonel Fernandez, the President of the Dominican Republic, at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. At the outset of the meeting, Mr. Sammy Sosa, a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who was born in the Dominican Republic, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Koizumi. When asked about his recent activities by Prime Minister Koizumi, Mr. Sosa replied that this year he is taking a break with his family, and that he is preparing for next year. In response to this, Prime Minister Koizumi noted that he would like to see Mr. Sosa hit a homerun in Japan, just as Mr. Jose Fernandez, a baseball player who was also born in the Dominican Republic and has excelled in Japan, has done. At the meeting, the leaders discussed the commemoration ceremonies for the 50th anniversary of Japanese immigration to the Dominican Republic, among others. After the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi mentioned the issue of Japanese immigrants to the Dominican Republic, saying, "I hear that consultations are currently taking place to reach a mutually agreeable solution while taking into account the hardships of those people who have immigrated, and it is my hope that they go well."