Suggestion for UN Reform and Strengthening

2023-05-17

On May 17, 2023, ETO Seishiro, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s United Nations Reform Examination Committee, requested Prime Minister KISHIDA, Chairman of the G7 summit of developed countries, to recommend UN reform. Members of the committee accompanied him. Prime Minister KISHIDA said he would work with President Biden to strengthen the functions of the United Nations, especially the reform of the Security Council and the expansion of its members. Please click here for the full text of the recommendations.


From left to right: ISHIBA Shigeru, SHIMOMURA Hakubun, YAMATANI Eriko, NAKASONE Hirofumi, ENDO Toshiaki, ETO Seishiro(Chair), KISHIDA Fumio(Prime Minister)、INOGUCHI Noriko(Secretary-General), FUNADA Hajime, YAMAGUCHI Tsuyoshi、KAMIKAWA Yoko, HORII Iwao, NAKATANI Gen.

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Global Governance: Emerging Role of global institutions and Japan in the 21st Century (16/05/2023)

2023-05-16

At the United Nations University in Tokyo, Dr. Augusto Lopez-Claros, Executive Director and Chair of the Global Governance Forum based in Madrid and Geneva met with form or ambassadors and scholars and discussed the emerging role of global institutions in the 21st century. Following Dr. Lopez-Claros` presentation on the major global crises and challenges, the participants first, discussed the concentration of material wealth and financial instability, which resulted in growing income inequality and poverty. Second, they examined the implication of rapid expansion of economic and manufacturing activities that are causing negative impacts on the ecosystem of the Earth and climate change. Thirdly, they identified intra-state and regional inter-state conflicts and wars, particularly the war in Ukraine that is polarizing the international community. To address these global challenges, the participants reviewed the need for reforming the United Nations system, particularly the Security Council. Please click here for the program and participants in this symposium.

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Aspiration for UN Security Council Reform: Japan Must Make a Paradigm Shift and Play a Historical Role (05/05/2023)

2023-05-05

Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa, Executive Director for the Academic Exchange of the United Nations Association of Japan, Distinguished Professor of the Kyoto University of the Arts, and Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Timor-Leste) made a presentation of his views to senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on March 28, 2023. Please click here for more information.

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Mr. AKASHI Yasushi and Professor Hasegawa had lunch with New UNU Rector MARWALA in Tokyo. (24/03/2023)

2023-03-24

Mr. AKASHI Yasushi, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, hosted a lunch meeting with Professor Tshilidzi MARWALA, new Rector of the UN University, on March 24, 2023, in Tokyo. Also participating in the meeting was Professor HASEGAWA Sukehiro. They discussed how the UN University was established in 1972 and evolved over the last 50 years. Rector MARWALA informed his intention to raise the profile of the UN University in Japan as well as the world, particularly in Africa.

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Mr. Motoo NOGUCHI spoke about the implications of the implications of the arrest warrant for Putin. (21/03/2023)

2023-03-21

Mr. Motoo NOGUCHI, a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ), a Former Japanese Ambassador for International Judicial Cooperation, and a member of the Panel of Experts for the Election of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), spoke about the implications of the arrest warrant for Russian President Putin issued by ICC at the BS Fuji Prime News on 20 March 2023. The main points are shown here.

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Professor HOSHINO Toshiya was appointed as a member of the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) (10/01/2023)

2023-01-10

Professor HOSHINO Toshiya, Councilor of the Kyoto Peace Center and frequent participant of the GPAJ seminars, was appointed as a member of the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on 20 December 2022. He served as Japan`s Ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2020. As he started his work with JIU in January 2023, he said that while the existence of the United Nations is being tested, based on his experience in academic research on the United Nations system and the practical work of United Nations diplomacy. He would also carry out his duties without prejudice and from a fair and neutral standpoint while working hard to make appropriate analyses, evaluations, and proposals, envisioning the ideal United Nations system in the new era.

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Timorese government officials visited Former SRSG Hasegawa. (08/10/2022)

2022-10-08

Timorese government officials visited Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Timor-Leste Hasegawa and briefed him about the economic and social situation in the country. They stressed the need to develop alternative economy as the country cannot depend on the petroleum resources forever. Seen in this photo are from right Mr. Hernani Soares, General Director for Administration and Finance of the Ministry of High Education, Science and Culture, Commissioner Antonio Freitas of the Civil Service Commission and Agostinho Letencio de Deus, Director General of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP). Reported by Masakuni Tanimoto Secretary-General of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan.

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Ambassadors SHINYO and HOSHINO of Japan Advocate a Realistic Approach to UN Security Council Reform (17/09/2022)

2022-09-17

Professor Takahiro SHINYO of Kwansei Gakuin University and Professor Toshiya HOSHINO of Osaka University, who have served as Japanese Ambassadors to the United Nations, participated in the panel discussions on United Nations Security Council Reform organized by the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo on September 8. Professor SHINYO proposed to create 6 to 8 semi-permanent members or longer-term non-permanent members with renewable terms of 4-8 years that allows for their re-election. Professor HOSHINO suggested that the resolution stipulating the expansion of the Security council members be submitted to the General Assembly by the end of 2023 for its adoption by September 2025 marking the 60th anniversary of the previous expansion of the non-permanent members of the Security Council in 1965. Please click here to view the details of the proposal for realistic reform of the UN Security Council.

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UN Senior Official Takakazu ITO discusses Japan’s leadership role and the growing participation of countries in triangular partnerships to strengthen UN peacekeeping operations. (11/08/2022)

2022-08-11

Triangular partnerships are now part of the backbone of United Nations peacekeeping. This was Mr. Ito’s central message during his participation at a recent GPAJ seminar “Japan’s International Peace Cooperation: Past, Present, and Future.” His remarks focused on the growth and benefits of the UN Triangular Partnership Programme (TPP), as well as Japan’s contributions to peacekeeping operations through TPP.
The TPP, which brings together the UN Secretariat, Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), and Member States with needed expertise and resources, started out as an engineering training project in East Africa in 2015. Now, seven years later, it has evolved and expanded into a comprehensive training and capacity-building programme, diverse in its themes and regions of operation. This shift is largely due to the growing recognition that TPP is much more than “investments” in the potential deployment of T/PCCs. Rather, they are “enablers” that support T/PCCs to deploy better-trained units and maximize impact in missions.

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