Up close and personal with SPINF-invited journalists in their coverage of the 7th PALM Summit

On May 23, 2015, five people with proud smiles stood on the red carpet, rolled out outside the front entrance of the Spa Resort Hawaiians in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. They were experienced journalists invited to Japan to coincide with the 7th conference of the Pacific Island Leaders Meeting, as part of the Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund's (SPINF) efforts to promote cooperative ties with Pacific Island nations. They came from Micronesia (Palau), Melanesia (Fiji and Papua New Guinea) and Polynesia (Tonga and Samoa).

The Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM) has been convened every three years since 1997 to strengthen the cooperative ties between Japan and Pacific Island nations. The latest conference (PALM7) was held in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. In the two-day conference, participating countries learned of the experiences of Fukushima, which is on its path of recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. They then agreed to reinforce their partnership in implementing initiatives for emergency management, climate change and human exchange. More specifically, the Japanese government pledged the assistance of more than 55 billion yen over the next three years, incorporating the policy of human exchange on the scale of 4,000 people, in order to promote autonomous development of Pacific Island nations.

The journalists invited by SPINF worked alongside other journalists from Japan and abroad, writing and issuing articles one after another. Under strict security, journalists had their movements restricted and were even excluded from some of the sessions. Yet, they managed to cover a series of events scheduled by the minute, including the opening ceremony, flower offering and inspection of quake-affected community, banquet, bilateral leaders' talks and briefings by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On May 24, Japanese Prime Minister Abe and President Tommy Remengesau Jr. of the Republic of Palau, who co-chaired the meeting, held a media conference, announcing the adoption of the Fukushima Iwaki Declaration before closing PALM7. After covering the commemorative photo shoot of Prime Minister Abe and the leaders of participating nations at the conference venue, Spa Resort Hawaiians, the journalists rushed to the red carpet, just before it was taken away, for a group shot with their arms around each other's shoulders. The beaming smiles in the photograph illustrate their sense of relief and achievement for successfully completing their mission.

We asked the five journalists from the Pacific Island nations what they thought of the invitation program.

（In the alphabetical order）

Mr. Pesi Fonua/ Editor- in- Chief "Matangi Tonga" the Kingdom of Tonga
Ms. Gorethy Kenneth/ Senior Reporter, Chief of Staff "Post Courier" the Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Mr. Pita Ligaiula/ Senior Journalist "PACNEWS" the Republic of Fiji
Mr. Peter Magbanua/ Reporter "Island Times" the Republic of Palau
Mr. Mataeliga Pio Sioa/ Chief Editor "Newsline Samoa" the Independent State of Samoa

I was from Port Moresby, which experienced a civil war that killed or injured 30,000 people. That is why I have been socially aware since childhood. I could not even go to school for about three years because of the war. I liked writing and reading books, and always wanted to be a journalist when I grew up. I have worked for Post Courier for 15 years now, and know people throughout the world through my work with numerous foreign embassies based in Papua New Guinea.

Each of the Pacific Island nations is a small country with common weaknesses such as tsunami, earthquake, drought, food safety and water shortage. It was excellent for these countries to be able to reach consensus about climate change.

PALM covers a variety of subjects, but there should be more debate on maritime and environmental affairs, which are the lifelines of us Pacific Island nations. We are under direct impact of climate change, which has emerged as an immediate threat. Temperatures have soared to an unbearable level compared to 2007, when I moved to Palau. High tides are now causing frequent floods in some areas. Specific initiatives must be urgently implemented to counter climate change.

We are small countries dotted around the Pacific, incapable of surviving without assistance and financial investments from Japan and other major countries. Yet, we do not want to be a stage for diplomatic games of major powers. The Pacific has rich marine resources. To achieve a win-win situation, it is crucial to examine the quality of assistance.

China has been making notable maritime advancement in recent years, sparking a cautionary response from Japan and Australia. Yet, 18 years on since the launch of PALM, and Japan has a proven friendly tie with the Pacific Island nations.

We are Samoa's second newspaper, and had not had an opportunity for receiving an invitation for this program until now. This has been a tremendous honor to be invited to the SPF program this time. It has been a precious experience to be able to come to Japan for the first time and network with colleagues from other Pacific Island nations through the coverage of the summit meeting.