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Last Update : Monday, Sep 26, 2016

JapanGov Weekly

Cabinet Secretariat [Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016]

Address by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Seventy-First Session of the United Nations General Assembly

North Korea as a threat to peace
Mme. Vice President, North Korea has now manifested itself directly before us as an open threat to peace. What can we do in response? The raison d'etre of the United Nations is now truly being tested.
North Korea launched SLBMs. Immediately after that it fired three ballistic missiles simultaneously, each traversing 1,000 kilometers to reach Japan’s exclusive economic zone. It is purely a matter of good fortune that no commercial aircraft or ships suffered any damage during this incident.
This year alone, North Korea has launched a total of 21 ballistic missiles. In addition, it claims to have successfully detonated a nuclear warhead in a test on September 9.
That nuclear test followed another test conducted this past January. This series of launches of missiles and a detonation of a war head does change the landscape completely.
North Korea’s nuclear development and the repeated launches of ballistic missiles are two sides of the same coin.
Right before our eyes, North Korea is carrying out a plan about which there can be no doubt. There is no alternative but to say that the threat has now reached a dimension altogether different from what has transpired until now.
We must therefore respond to this in a manner entirely distinct from our responses thus far. We must concentrate our strengths and thwart North Korea’s plans.
Immediately upon hearing the report of the nuclear test, I telephoned President Barack Obama of the United States. After that I also held telephone talks with President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea. We all agreed that our three countries will demonstrate a resolute attitude towards North Korea, acting in close coordination.
Next is the United Nations’ turn on the stage. Now is the time for the Security Council to indicate an unmistakable attitude towards this threat of a new dimension.

Leading Security Council discussions
It was only four months ago that President Obama visited Hiroshima, where countless innocent citizens fell victim to the first atomic bomb ever detonated.
It was a day on which we renewed pledges. However much time it may take, we must never, even for the briefest moment, let up in our efforts towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Our pledges on that day linked both sides of the Pacific and gained new strength.
Despite this, North Korea is now escalating its provocations. This is a challenge posed to the conscience of humankind. Were we to overlook it, how would we justify it to our own consciences?
Peace is something very much like glass. When well-polished and transparent, we are not conscious of its presence. And a small crack can be overlooked for a while without giving rise to any changes.
But before you know it, the crack expands and the glass in time shatters with a crash. That is why day in and day out we must continuously foster the habit of mind of handling glass with great care so that no cracks form.
I believe the original intention of the United Nations, created in the wake of two world wars, was that kind of keen awareness.
For that very reason, it would simply be unacceptable to continue to tolerate military provocation. It is because that would be an act equivalent to openly and in broad daylight setting a crack into glass.
Moreover, the threat to peace now manifest before us, and the nature of the military provocation North Korea has persisted with, are substantially more serious than before.
Ballistic missiles to be launched from submarines. Nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles. North Korea is without a doubt poised to have these in its possession.
And the country carrying this out is a country that abducted a large number of Japanese, including a girl aged 13 at the time. We are demanding that North Korea return them immediately, but they have not agreed upon doing that and deprived them of their peaceful lives and not allowing them to return to their homeland even now.
It is a country that tramples human rights, where no heed whatsoever is paid to restraints on or balances of power. It is a country pushing ahead with a buildup of arms including nuclear weapons and missiles while paying no attention to the plight of its citizens.
The threat to the international community has become increasingly grave and all the more realistic. It demands a new means of addressing it, altogether different from what we applied until yesterday.
Mme. Vice President, this December, Japan will mark the 60th anniversary of its accession to the United Nations.
And 62 years have passed if we count from when the peaceful toll of the bronze bell sent by a Japanese citizen began sounding in the front gardens of the UN grounds on the International Day of Peace each year.
That bell was cast by melting down within the mold coins sent by the Pope. Coins and medals sent by children and adults from more than 60 countries around the world were melted to cast it. What was the wish of the Japanese people contained therein?
Sixty years ago, what the Japanese who had attained a seat in this distinguished Chamber sought from the depths of their hearts, and thereafter consistently and absolutely unfailingly wished for and advocated for was, single-mindedly, world peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
It was a pledge to be passed down for generations not to stop walking along the path which would make that a reality.
Mme. Vice President, on this occasion today, I had originally intended to look back on the path we have walked these 60 years and convey a quiet reflection on how Japan has travelled that road, aiming at world peace and prosperity.
However, now, with the North Korea threat reaching a new level, I feel I must state my determination in light of Japan having upheld its pledge these 60 years.
Now, as the world concentrates on whether the United Nations will thwart North Korea’s ambitions or the Security Council will be able to confront North Korea in a united way, Japan, as a Security Council member, will lead the Security Council’s discussions.
This, I wish to declare absolutely as my resolution before the distinguished national representatives gathered here in the General Assembly chamber.

Bringing the rule of law to the seas
Mme. Vice President, no matter the issue facing us, or exactly since we are faced with many challenges, Japan, which marks its 60th year since accession, will spare no effort to strengthen the United Nations.
The cumulative total of the assessed contributions to the UN and assessed contributions to peacekeeping operations that Japan has paid in, as a simple tally of the book value of those contributions, easily exceeds 20 billion U.S. dollars.
The one and only country whose total amount of financial contributions surpass those of Japan over the past 30 years is the United States.
In addition, our track record of development assistance amounts to 334.5 billion U.S. dollars, again as a simple tally of the then book value.
In my view, the United Nations has had three great causes pervading its history.
These are the devotion to peace, the pursuit of growth, and the desire for a world free of injustice and unfairness.
I believe you will recognize that Japan is a country that has made all-out efforts regarding each of those causes over these 60 years.
Above all, growth serves as the foundation for all. Only when there is growth does peace take root and can injustices be rectified over time.
Take a look and see how greater Asia has now surpassed any other region on earth for the size of its population living under democracy. This is precisely the fruit of the growth that Asia came to enjoy since the mid-1980’s, which happens also to be the period since Japanese companies began their vigorous direct investments in Asian nations.
It is only through a free and open trade and investment environment that Japan was able to grow. This is the very same thing that has conferred the prosperity of the present day on the countries of Asia.
Peace, stability, and security of the seas as well as freedom of navigation and overflight are the basis for the peace and prosperity of the international community.
Should there be disputes, the international community must adhere strictly to the principles that states shall make their claims based on international law, they shall not use force or coercion in trying to drive their claims, and they shall seek to settle disputes by peaceful means.
Japan will continue to stand without fail on the side that upholds a world order that is open, free, and unwavering in adhering to the rule of law and international rules.
Let me also say that at the core of the Japanese government I have formed a special team which I lead directly that is working to further the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Government of Japan will accelerate the work towards early conclusion of the Paris Agreement on climate change and will carry out without fail its pledge to provide 1.3 trillion yen of assistance for developing countries in 2020.I will make sure that it will be done.
Japan will spare no effort in strengthening the United Nations in the 60 years to come just as it did over the past 60 years. I wish to pledge this grounded in trust in the Japanese people.

This is Japan’s UN Spirit
The person was seen unexpectedly on a corner in Juba. The location was a place where members of a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force engineering unit were in the midst of activities wearing the blue helmets of the United Nations.
“I am really thankful that Japan is building roads. I place my full confidence in you. Isn’t there anything I can do? Let me help you. I don’t need anything in return.”
Again the next day, and the day after that, the man appeared at the worksite where an arterial road was being laid in the capital of South Sudan, the UN's youngest member state. From the third day, the man began doing the work that he knew would be necessary, and ultimately he continued working together with the members of the Self-Defense Force for eight days.
On the day they went separate ways, as they were patting each other on the back while regretting they had to part, it goes without saying that our engineering unit members, who had heard nothing but words of thanks from this man, were deeply moved.
Juma Ago Isaac. The SDF members each wrote the name of this otherwise nameless man from South Sudan in their notebooks to remember him.
Mme. Vice President, no matter what the job or where, the Japanese engaged in international cooperation there at the local worksites always consider this kind of encounter to be the greatest pleasure.
Wherever they go, the nameless people there wake up to their own abilities and realize that nation-building begins from the very place where they themselves are standing. The Japanese witnessing this are moved in ways that become memories lasting their entire lives.
It is a source of quiet pride for me that the relationship between Japan and the United Nations has for the past 60 years brought hearts together in this way in Asia, in Africa, and indeed all around the world. This is Japan’s UN spirit. I pledge not to forget this and to foster it and hand it down to the next generation.

Reform of the Security Council as a matter of urgency
I will end my address by pointing out the need for fundamental changes in the UN governance structure. Countries in Africa and Latin America have built up a degree of influence they have never had before in global politics and the global economy, and yet they do not have satisfactory representation on the Security Council. Just this single example makes the current state of affairs on the Security Council indefensible to the generation alive now.
Although international relations at the time the war drew to an end 71 years ago do appear on a page in the history books even now, they have nothing whatsoever to do with the countries that achieved their independence since then.
At the TICAD VI summit Japan convened recently with the countries of Africa, I heard the leaders call the circumstances by which Africa has no permanent representation on the Security Council a “historical injustice,” to which I nodded deeply in agreement. Africa’s long-term vision has set forth the goal of Africa having permanent members on the Security Council by 2023, and Japan supports this thoroughly.
If we do not carry out the reform of the Security Council now, it will easily be put off for a decade or two. Will we stand in the position of harming the values of the UN? Or will we wish for a strengthening of the UN? If it is the latter, then it goes without saying that reform of the Security Council is a matter of urgency.
I will end my address here, placing emphasis on this point. Thank you very much.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Tuesday, Sep 20, 2016]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Article contributed to CNN "UN reform is long overdue"

“Whatever may be the nature of the uncertainties and the tensions in which the world is placed today, and whatever may be their causes, there should be no problem that cannot be resolved peacefully with the united strength of eighty nations which now constitute our Organization.”

These words were spoken 60 years ago by Mamoru Shigemitsu, Japan’s foreign minister at the time, on the day our country joined the United Nations. His statement is just as true today, as we prepare for this year’s General Assembly meeting, as it was back in 1956.

In the 70 years since the United Nations was founded, it has helped the international community overcome Cold War tensions to resolve many regional conflicts. Today, in developed and developing countries alike, the greater movement of people, freedom in trade and investment, and advances in information technology have enriched many people’s lives.

Japan, for its part, has continued to serve as a steadfast pillar of the United Nations during its six decades of membership. We are, for example, the second-largest financial contributor to the United Nations, and have provided more than $330 billion of Official Development Assistance, accepted 560,000 trainees from developing nations and dispatched 190,000 experts and volunteers. Asian nations’ role as the growth center of the global economy is ample testimony to the impact these contribution have made. In addition, Japanese personnel have participated in peacekeeping operations in countries such as Cambodia and Timor-Leste and provided long years of on-the-ground support for nation-building programs.

But the world has changed drastically since the United Nations was established, and the evolution toward a borderless world is continuing, posing new challenges to mankind. It is therefore essential that the role of the United Nations evolves to meet those challenges. The international community must stand ever more united, not divided, to find solutions to these increasing challenges. And the key to doing so is to break down an outdated “silo approach” to international affairs.

The reality is that the issues we face are no longer one country’s problem, and they can no longer be confined to a single policy area. Tackling the prolonged refugee crisis, for example, which involves multiple regions and states, as well as complex political dynamics, requires a solution that gets to the root causes of a given issue. That means doing more than just saving refugees from the immediate crisis they find themselves in. Instead, we also need to empower them through education and vocational training so that they are ready to rebuild their lives if they choose to return home. This makes bridging the gap between humanitarian efforts and development assistance even more important.

But tackling such challenges requires strong leadership from the United Nations. The organization must live up to its full potential even as it faces finite resources in trying to do so. That will require making the United Nations a more unified organization -- “One UN” -- where UN bodies coordinate more closely. This process is unavoidable, even though it might require bold and painful organizational reforms. One of the most urgent of those is reform of the UN Security Council.

With a growing range of pressing issues to address, including the situation in Syria, as well as North Korea’s missile launches and recent nuclear tests in defiance of UN resolutions, the role of the Security Council continues to grow in importance. In particular, North Korea has enhanced its capabilities this year by conducting two nuclear tests and launching at least 20 ballistic missiles. Clearly, North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat has entered a new stage. Meanwhile, North Korea’s human rights violations, including the issue of the abductions of Japanese and other citizens, could undermine regional stability and thus should be seen as inseparable from matters of international peace and security. All this is a reminder that reform simply cannot wait, since the Security Council takes primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Since the United Nations’ inception, the international community has undergone tectonic changes. The number of member states has grown from 51 to 193 countries as Asian and African countries won their independence, gaining greater prominence on the international stage -- both politically and economically – in the process.

Yet despite these changes, the composition of the Security Council, which has important responsibilities in terms of global peace and security, remains almost entirely unchanged. This means that the entire continent of Africa, which is the focus of many of the Security Council’s agenda items, does not have any permanent representation. With that in mind, three weeks ago, at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development I co-hosted in Nairobi, I expressed my firm support for the goal of having permanent African representation on the Security Council by 2023, while sharing their vision of correcting “historical injustice” and respecting their own initiative, “Agenda 2063.”

Clearly, a priority for the United Nations should be to address the composition of the Security Council to help increase its representativeness, legitimacy and effectiveness. There is a general consensus within the international community of the need for Security Council reform, and I see support for reforms as a litmus test of the seriousness of a nation’s desire for global peace and security.

Looking ahead, developed and developing countries alike face common challenges: building economic structures that drive growth, countering global warming while reducing dependence on fossil fuels and tackling pollution. Other shared goals include developing high quality and sustainable infrastructure, meeting the challenge of aging societies, and creating more robust health and education systems.

In a few short decades, Japan has successfully managed to overcome many of these issues. We are now also pioneering efforts to promote proactive engagement of our aging population, and to also create a society in which all women can shine. That is why I believe Japan can make a unique contribution to the international community, including through becoming a permanent member of the Security Council.

Japan has long drawn on its unique strengths to contribute to global peace and stability. As the only country to have experienced atomic bombings, we vigorously support nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, submitting resolutions at the United Nations every year calling for the eradication of nuclear weapons. Based on our track record of bringing a global perspective to resolving issues in Africa and the Middle East, among other regions, and our commitment to making a proactive contribution to peace, I firmly believe that as a permanent member of the Security Council, Japan would provide a major impetus toward global peace and security.

Just two months after Foreign Minister Shigemitsu delivered his country’s first speech to the United Nations, Nobusuke Kishi became Prime Minister. In a speech just before taking office, Kishi said: “Japan must always stand ready to make as much contributions as would be necessary to strengthen the authority of the United Nations and to attain world peace through the UN.”

On the 60th anniversary of Japan’s UN membership, I reaffirm this commitment -- and our desire to fulfill our role as a responsible member of the international community, one that will continue to be proactive in working toward a United Nations that is effective and capable of keep pace with these fast-changing times.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Monday, Sep 19, 2016]

Statement by Prime Minister Abe at the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants

Excellencies,

Today the world faces an unprecedented level of refugee and migrant movements, which amounts to serious ongoing humanitarian crises. Against such a backdrop, the first United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants, which we hold today, is most welcome and timely. I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to all the Member States who have gathered to participate in this historic summit.

As the humanitarian crises we are witnessing today are so enormous, close cooperation among all the relevant states and organizations is essential. For that very reason, Japan consolidated the G7 Ise-Shima Leaders’ Declaration, which highlighted the importance of mid- and long-term efforts to address refugee and migrant issues.

I support the United Nations to take the lead in tackling this issue. I expect all the United Nations organizations to come together and unite their efforts as “One UN” under the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants” adopted today. I welcome the agreement to include the International Organization for Migration, which makes great contributions to this field, as a related organization of the UN.

Japan, as the holder of the G7 Presidency, and as an advocate for human security, has been proactively contributing to improve the refugee crisis. JICA, the implementing agency of Japan’s ODA, has been providing assistance to Syrian refugees and host communities in various countries, such as Turkey and Jordan. Japanese NGOs are working and sweating together with local people. In addition, Japan works closely with the United Nations organizations, of which there are many Japanese staff who personally play active roles in this area.

One of the characteristics of Japan’s assistance is that we provide development cooperation to promote self-reliance among the refugees and economic development of the host countries alongside our emergency humanitarian assistance. To take one example, in Lebanon’s central region, in addition to humanitarian assistance, Japan provides vocational training to Syrian refugees and Lebanese youth in cooperation with UNHCR. We also built water ways for irrigation together with UNDP. These cooperative activities have assisted more than 30,000 people.

We call this approach “the humanitarian and development nexus.” In short, we provide seamless assistance to both refugees and host communities from emergency assistance to economic development. I expect this approach to contribute greatly toward achieving the goals of the New York Declaration by enabling the coexistence of refugees and host communities while safeguarding their safety and dignity.

To conclude my remarks, I would like to make a new commitment. Japan commits to providing an assistance package of about 2.8 billion US dollars between 2016 and 2018 as humanitarian and self-reliance assistance to refugees and migrants, and assistance to host countries and communities. Japan will continue to play a leading role to bring solutions to the refugee and migrant issues by collaborating closely with the international community.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Sunday, Sep 18, 2016]

Joint Statement Following the Japan-U.S.-ROK Trilateral Ministerial Meeting in New York

Today the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Fumio Kishida, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea, Yun Byung-se met in New York to ensure that the three countries remain in close coordination in the wake of North Korea’s second nuclear test in eight months and a series of other, ballistic missile-related North Korean provocations over the past six months, and to expand collaboration. The Ministers noted that the DPRK’s flagrant disregard for multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions expressly prohibiting its ballistic missile and nuclear programs requires even stronger international pressure on the regime. North Korea’s provocative actions are further deepening its isolation and undermining the needs of its people, who suffer greatly at the hands of the regime. In this regard, the three countries are working closely with partners at the United Nations and in other fora to pressure the DPRK. Secretary Kerry reiterated that the United States remains steadfast in its defense commitments to the Republic of Korea and Japan, including the commitment to provide extended deterrence, backed by the full range of its nuclear and conventional defense capabilities.

During the meeting, the Ministers explored ways to work together to ensure that all countries fully and effectively implement all their obligations and commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 2270, which imposed the strongest sanctions ever placed upon North Korea, in response to the DPRK’s accelerated, systematic, and unprecedented campaign to develop an operational nuclear capability. They also discussed the important work currently taking place in the Security Council to further sanction North Korea and considered other possible measures of their own, in particular ways to further restrict revenue sources for the DPRK’s missile and nuclear programs, including through illicit activities. They reaffirmed that they remain open to credible and authentic talks aimed at full and verifiable denuclearization of the DPRK and that they are willing to honor the commitments in the September 19, 2005 Six-Party Talks Joint Statement. They agreed to continue to draw international attention to the systemic, widespread, and gross violations of human rights in North Korea, including the abductions issue.

Lastly, the Ministers noted the positive role that the three countries can play to promote regional peace and stability and address global challenges. Together, Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea are tackling some of the world’s toughest problems, from refugees to climate change, from terrorism to global health, and from countering violent extremism to development assistance. They agreed to continue trilateral cooperation on regional and global issues and find new opportunities for further collaboration.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Wednesday, Sep 14, 2016]

Japan-China Foreign Ministers’ Telephone Talk

On September 14, commencing at 10:10 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a telephone talk with Mr. Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China. The overview of the talk is as follows.

1. Regarding the situation in North Korea, Minister Kishida stated that the fact that North Korea went ahead with the nuclear test constituted a direct and grave threat to Japan’s security and seriously undermined the peace and security of the region as well as the international community and was totally unacceptable, and sought a constructive response from China as a responsible permanent member of the Security Council.

2. In response, Foreign Minister Wang explained China’s position concerning the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and the two ministers confirmed that they would collaborate in the United Nations Security Council toward the adoption of a new United Nations Security Council resolution including further sanctions.

3. The two foreign ministers appreciated the outcome of the Japan-China Summit at the G20 Hangzhou Summit and agreed to further improve Japan-China relations while closely promoting mutual understanding between the two ministers.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Wednesday, Sep 14, 2016]

Joint Statement on the Nuclear Test by North Korea by the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI)

1. On September 13, the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI), composed of 12 countries including Japan, issued a joint statement condemning the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on September 9, at the Conference on disarmament currently held in Geneva (see full text attached).

2. The Government of Japan appreciates the issuance of this statement by the NPDI, a cross-regional group on disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, condemning North Korea’s nuclear test in the strongest terms, and will continue to engage with this matter collaborating with the countries concerned.

(Note: The 12 participating countries of the NDPI are Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.)