Celebrating Kim Jong Un’s Birthday,
“New Year Seminar on Juche Idea” Held in Okinawa
A “New Year Seminar on the Juche Idea” was held in Okinawa, Japan, on January 12, 2025, to celebrate the birthday of Kim Jong Un, on the auspices of the Japanese National Liaison Council for the Study of Kimilsung-Kimjongilism with the support of the International Institute of the Juche Idea (IIJI).
The seminar was participated by Dr. Ogami Ken-ichi, secretary general of the IIJI, Member Takara Tetsumi of House of Councilors, Prof. Emeritus Nakamura Hoshin at Okinawa University and other Juche idea researchers such as scholars, democrats, workers and students all over Japan, including those from Hokkaido, some 100 in all.
A congratulatory message was sent by the Korean Association of Social Scientists in the followings:
“We believe that this seminar, which is being held with great interest and support of the Japanese people in various walks of life who are aspiring after independence, justice, and peace, would be an excellent opportunity for the participants to deepen their understanding of Comrade Kim Jong Un’s revolutionary thought well-known as the people-first principles with the idea of ‘devoting themselves to the wellbeing of the people’ at the center, as well as the reality of the DPRK that has achieved an astonishing success in the construction of an ideal society of the people. This seminar would also become a good occasion for both the DPRK and Japanese peoples to strengthen their bonds.”
Congratulatory messages were also sent to the seminar by Dr. Samir Diab, president of the Lebanese Society for the Study of the Juche Idea, and Prof. Emeritus Taira Ken-ichi at Okinawa University.
In his address on behalf of the sponsorship, Prof. Emeritus Nakamura Hoshin at Okinawa University, expressed his heartache over the ongoing war in Palestine and Ukraine as he himself was a war survivor of the Battle of Okinawa, and his hope that the Juche idea would develop more widely and contribute more to world peace in the future.
In his address as a guest Mr. Takara Tetsumi, member of the House of Councilors introduced his belief in his own activities in the Diet, saying that under the circumstances that the truth is being hidden, it is important to assert wrongs as wrongs, and urged the participants in the seminar to fight together against the expansion of Japanese military forces that is being under way using so-called threats by the DPRK and Russia as an excuse for that.
In the seminar a lecture online entitled “Contemporary Imperialism and Significance of the Juche Idea” was given by Prof. Emeritus Kamakura Takao at Saitama University, who is also director of the IIJI Board.
Prof. Kamakura stated that the fierce Battle of Okinawa was fought in line with the hegemonic strategy of the U.S., and that Okinawa is a microcosm of the contradictions of Japan's subordination to the U.S. under the U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.
He also stressed the importance of investigating the nature of past wars and correctly grasping the current situation, in which wars are not only fought for the plunder of goods, but are also used as tools of imperialism to dominate other countries. He also spoke about the prospects for creating a peaceful world without war in the followings:
“The building of a peaceful and vibrant society depends on the ideo-consciousness of the people. A society to be built based on the people-first principle and a truly equal and democratic society to be built based on the Juche idea is one where the people nurture and develop their consciousness and creativity based on a relationship of mutual trust, mutual help, and mutual improvement, and where the nation becomes wealthy and the wealth is returned to the masses in equal measure.
“We should study the Juche idea and make it our own belief. And we must oppose U.S. imperialism, which has become an obstacle to Japan's independence. It matters what ideo-consciousness we have obtained. The obtaining of independence of our own selves must be the power to confront the domination of contemporary imperialism, to promote peace throughout the world, and to establish the independence of each nation of our own.”
Next, Prof. Pak Myong at Korea University in Japan delivered a lecture entitled “Report on Visit to DPRK in 2024: Revolutionary Thought of Kim Jong Un and Its Realization.”
Stating that the DPRK’s struggle for communism stems from President Kim Il Sung’s thought, Prof. Pak Myong explained that the theory of socialist and communist construction based on the Juche idea has been further developed and enriched in the DPRK under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Un. He said as follows:
“The cause of socialist construction passes through the historical process in such a way as that it starts with the establishment of a socialist administration, passes through the transitional period from capitalism to socialism, achieves the complete victory of socialism, and a socialist society that has achieved the complete victory develops more and moves to a higher stage of communism.
“In addition, it is required that each sector, each unit, and each region of the society should be promoted through three revolutions of ideo-consciousness, technology and culture. This is the comprehensive development of socialism that we are going to achieve, and a socialist power, an ideal society of the people, which will prosper through self-reliance and self-existence.
“Communism is not only measured by the amount of material wealth and shared welfare, whose characteristics can be seen in such a way as how much the society is full of love, affection and virtue, how well people live together, and how high the moral standards of the people have reached. These are the main contents of an ideal society.”
Prof. Pak Myong introduced how Kim Jong Un himself in person went to the northern part of the DPRK last summer to lead the reconstruction work in response to the flooding in the region, and then stated that an idea of “devoting oneself to the wellbeing of the people” finds its expression in immediately trying to realize what the people demand. He further introduced that Kim Jong Un visited the evacuation tents where the affected people were living and invited those children and elderly to come to Pyongyang so that they could live in peace still under those circumstances.
He further said that in the DPRK, those who have experienced flood are called “flood victims,” however, Kim Jong Un's thorough dedication has given a birth to a term “water bringing happiness to the people”.
He referred to his impression in his visit to the DPRK that the DPRK people were vibrant and full of smiles, and that they were not only economically affluent, but also trusted and helped each other, and lived with confidence in their own country.
The seminar concluded with closing remarks by Narita Tokuhei, born to the Ainu people. He stated that his third visit to the DPRK in October last year made him realize the power of the Juche idea once again, and that he would like to learn more from the Juche idea and pass on the idea to many people. He also stated that he would like to make use of the Juche idea in his activities for the independence and political unity of the Ainu people in Hokkaido.
New Year Art Performances
“New Year Art Performances” was held after the Seminar.
Mr. Paek Chun, a Korean lawyer working in Okinawa, gave the toast.
Okinawan folk songs and Okinawan dances were performed by Mr. Yoza Koken and his Yoza family. They started performing Okinawan congratulatory dances like “Guin-Bushi” and “Aha-Bushi,” as dances in celebration of the beginning of the New Year, followed by their singing of Okinawan folk songs. The audience was delighted, clapping their hands in unison to the bright and cheerful tone and tempo of the music.
It was followed by Yaeyama dance depicting the livelihood of the common people in Yaeyama, one of the remote Islands in Okinawa, and the audience was relaxed by the simplicity of the dance.
Next, Ms. Ikebe Yukie, president of the Japan-DPRK Association for Music and Arts Exchanges, sang “Bashofu (fiberglass cloth from Basho Island)” and “Kojo-no-Tsuki (The Moon over the Ruined Castle)” while playing the piano, and sang one of her original songs in hopes of promoting friendship between Japan and the DPRK.
The last singer was Toyama Yoko, who sang a song of her own songs, “Ishiwarizakura (Rock Splitting Cherry Tree),” followed by a medley of folk songs from various regions of Japan. She also sang Korean songs with a professor from Korea University in Japan, who jumped in during her performance, and the audience gave a big round of applause for their well-matched singing.
In the end, she sang a DPRK song “We Cannot Live without That Person,” expressing her determination to live with General Secretary Kim Jong Un.
The program of art performances ended with bouquets of flowers to thank all the performers each.
The New Year Seminar on the Juche Idea in Okinawa, held at the beginning of the year 2025, was of great significance in learning deeply from General Secretary Kim Jong Un's thought and guidance, and in disseminating them to the people in broader walks of life.