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Previous Issues |
Issue |
| "Parliamentarians should work together to solve population problems." | |
| Hon. Soichiro Ito, M.P. and Speaker of Japanese Parliament, opens AFPPD Assembly | |
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| (Left to Right) Prof. Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn, Dr.
Taro Nakayama, Dr. Nafis Sadik, Mr. Shin Sakurai, Dr. Hirofumi Ando and Ms. Ingar
Brueggemann |
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NIIGATA (Japan) – More than 100 parliamentarians from 28 countries, parliament staff, NGO’s and U.N. representatives at the 6th General Assembly of the Asian Forum of Population and Development on "Asian Population in the Next Millenium" pledged their commitment.
This population growth had not only negative effects but also a bright side. It was hoped that the world’s 1 billion youth (aged 15-24 years) would open a new horizon and solve problems related to population and development in the future. Approaching the end of the century, which had been a volatile one, and the beginning of a new century, it was important that parliamentarians proactively exchanged their opinions and established a vision for the future. |
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Mr.. Soichiro Ito,Honorable Speaker of
the Japanese House of Representatives, in his opening speech, expressed great pleasure in
holding the meeting in Japan. He said the four-fold population growth during this century
and the pressure for accelerating development placed heavy burdens on the environment
globally. However, population problems were diverse and differed from country to country,
ranging from countries with rapid population growth to those with declining fertility and
aging populations. The challenge was for these countries of diverse population dynamics to
work together to find solutions for the future. 
