Foreign Ministry bureaucrats have yet to fully grasp the policies of the Democratic Party of Japan, but some are welcoming the level of attention the party is generating overseas, especially in the United States, saying there is strong interest in Japan's diplomacy for the first time in decades.
After the DPJ's Aug. 30 election win, various symposiums held in Washington on the party's policies are attracting participants interested in the kind of changes the new administration will bring.
"This is unprecedented," a Foreign Ministry official said, on condition of anonymity.