The "Children's Diet" held its millennium session at the House of Councillors for two days in early August, with a total of 252 "members of parliament" chosen from elementary and junior high schools across Japan taking part to discuss a wide range of issues they will face in the 21st century.

The first session of the Children's Diet was convened in 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the House of Councillors. The program gives children an opportunity to exchange views on problems around them and at the same time to learn how parliamentarians (representatives) work in the Japanese Diet (national assembly).

The topics of the second session this year were the environment, education, international exchange, welfare, and social life. The Diet created eight committees to discuss these five themes on the first day, because so many members wanted to participate in the debates on the environment, education, and welfare.

In a plenary session (one attended by everyone) on the second day, each committee filed a report on the discussions and Diet members exchanged views on these reports.

The committee on international exchange called for a "Children's Olympics" to deepen exchanges through sports, while the first committee on education proposed creating a "Day of Courage" when all children are called upon to summon up courage to stop bullying at school.

Takanori Maeda, a sixth grader from Hiroshima who sat on the committee on the environment, said he now has a better understanding of destruction of the earth's ozone layer and river contamination and also learned that reducing garbage to be disposed of is much better for the environment than recycling.

The participants then adopted the millennium session's declaration, which underlined the importance of cherishing individuality and respecting others who are different. It also called for creating "barrier-free minds" by doing away with discrimination and prejudice.

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said he was impressed by the contents of the declaration, encouraging kid Diet members to use their experiences to build a prosperous and glorious Japan in the 21st century.

After the Children's Diet adjourned, the results of the discussions and the declaration were reported to students at five schools across Japan using a teleconference system.

Photos: Children from all over the country gathered at the National Diet to debate serious issues. (Asahi Shogakusei Shimbun)