Kazuo told a delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) at a meeting in Tokyo on November 3 that he hopes the two sides will continue to increase exchange and cooperation activities in order to further boost the two parties' relations and contribute to establishing a peaceful and stable world order.

The CPV delegation, headed by Deputy Editor-in-chief of the Communist Review Tran Quang Nhiep, came to Japan to attend the 39^th festival of Shimbun Akahata, the daily organ of the JCP.

At the meeting, Mr Nhiep thanked the JCP for its valuable assistance to the CPV and the Vietnamese people in the past and at present, expressing hope that relations between the two parties and between the two countries' people will be further developed and cemented.

During the three-day Shimbun Akahata's festival, which will last until November 5, JCP officials, including former Chair Tetsuzo Fuwa and Kazuo, will deliver speeches relating to changes in the world, the current situation in Japan, and the JCP's policies in the new context.

Started in 1928, the Shimbun Akahata has a daily edition and a weekly edition that draw some 1.6 million readers throughout Japan.