Tokyo, Japan—UPF-Japan hosted a virtual International Leadership Conference (ILC) with three sessions held on November 21, 23 and 24, 2020, on the theme “Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula” in support of the 3rd Rally of Hope, an online event sponsored by UPF which took place on November 22.
Session 1: November 21
The first session, a panel discussion, focused on the topic, “Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula: Perspectives of Korean Residents in Japan,” and was attended by 40 participants.
The panelists were:
- Mr. Dong Jun Yang, vice chairman of the Democratic Party’s World Conference of the Korean People. Mr. Yang was previously an official of Mindan, the Republic of Korean Residents Union in Japan, one of two main organizations for Koreans living in the country.
- Mr. Shin Ki Ha, a journalist and former reporter of the Choson Sinbo, a newspaper published by the General Association of Korean Residents, a pro-North Korea organization for Koreans in Japan.
- Mr. Sang Sun Lee, a representative director of Korean World, a newspaper representing a new perspective of Koreans living in Japan.
Session 2: November 23
The second session, “Vision of the Heavenly Unified Korea,” was joined by 150 participants.
Dr. Sung Bae Jin, chairman of the HJ Academy of Arts and Science, South Korea, presented a lecture. This was followed by remarks given by Prof. Yoshizumi Asai, a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University, Japan, and Hon. Kenji Kanda, a current member of the House of Representatives, Japan.
Session 3: November 24
The third session brought together four panelists who discussed the “Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula: Japanese Perspective” and was attended by 150 participants.
The panelists were:
- Amb. Kishichiro Amae, a diplomat who has served at Japanese embassies in Iran, Korea, the USSR and Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
- Dr. Chang Soo Jin, director of the Center for Japan Studies and former president of the Sejong Institute.
- Mr. Yasuo Okushi, commander in chief of the Air Defense Command, Japan.
- Hon. Toru Doi, a member of the House of Representatives.
UPF-Japan secretary-general, Mr. Shunsuke Uotani, and the chapter’s chairman, Mr. Masayoshi Kajikuri, served as the moderator and gave the organizer’s greetings, respectively, at each session.
All three sessions closed with a question and answer session between the speakers and participants.