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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Receives a Courtesy Call from Iraqi Judo Athlete Hadir A. Lazame who will Participate in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
(Summary)

Photo1(Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Receives a Courtesy Call from Iraqi Judo Athlete Hadir A. Lazame who will Participate in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games) Photo2(Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Receives a Courtesy Call from Iraqi Judo Athlete Hadir A. Lazame who will Participate in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games) Photo3(Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Receives a Courtesy Call from Iraqi Judo Athlete Hadir A. Lazame who will Participate in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games)

July 28, 2004

On Wednesday July 28, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a courtesy call from Mr. Hadir A. Lazame, a member of Iraq's national Judo team for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and his coach Mr. Radi J. Radi, who are invited to Japan as part of Japan's assistance for Iraq's participation in international games. The summary of the courtesy call is as follows.

  1. At the outset, Prime Minister Koizumi congratulated Mr. Lazame and the Iraqi Olympic team as a whole on their participation in the coming Olympic Games, and encouraged them to try their best to cheer up the people of Iraq, who are striving for the reconstruction of their nation. The prime minister then presented to Mr. Lazame the uniform of the Iraqi national team for the Olympic Games, which is sponsored by Japan.

  2. Mr. Lazame expressed his feeling that he was representing the people of Iraq in meeting with Prime Minister. He further stated that if he were to win any medal at the Olympic Games, he would like to dedicate it to the people of Japan. He expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan and all other relevant organizations that had made his visit to Japan possible.

  3. Prime Minister Koizumi also shared his intention for Japan to continue its assistance for the reconstruction of Iraq, which can only be accomplished by the people of Iraq. In response, Mr. Lazame acknowledged that Japan is taking appropriate measures in supporting that process and he highly appreciated Japan's assistance through the reconstruction of infrastructure as well as through cultural and sports exchange programs.

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