Hasegawa Peacebuilding Academy

At the kind invitation of Ms. Noriko Nagayoshi, Executive Committee Member of AFICS-Japan, I had an opportunity to dine and chat with 10 former United Nations officials visiting Japan at a restaurant in Asakusa. They have visited countries around the world, and this year, the group came to Japan and traveled to various places such as Tohoku. While meeting them, I felt that they had a strong sense of Kizuna, or bonds with each other.

JCK orientation course was held at the Yoyogi Olympics Memorial Center on August 5, 2023. Mr. AKASHI Yasushi, GPAJ Special Advisor, and GPAJ President HASEGAWA Sukehiro delivered lectures to the participating students.

Mr. Toshiya Hoshino, a former Ambassador to the United Nations and now serving as a United Nations Inspector, and Mr. Daisaku Inoue, a director of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan, met with Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa on 10 July 2023 at a Thai restaurant in Geneva for lunch.

The following is a summary of statements made at the ACUNS Annual Meeting by the heads of the three academic associations of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, namely Ms. HU Wenli, Vice-President and Director-General of UNA-China, Professor YAMADA Tetsuya of Nanzan University and President of the Japanese Association of the United Nations Studies (JAUNS); and Professor Dong Ju CHOI, President of the Korea Academic Council on the UN System (KACUNS). It also reflects the comment made by ACUNS Vice President and President-elect, Professor Franz Baumann, and the concluding remarks made by Professor HASEGAWA Sukehiro, Director of ACUNS Tokyo Liaison Office and Distinguished Professor of Kyoto University of the Arts.

Professor Misako Takizawa invited Mr. Ken Inoue and me to visit the residence of the late Jiro Shirasu, who assisted Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida in dealing with General Douglas MacArthur. He is remembered in Japan for an incident in Christmas 1945 when he delivered a present from Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, to General Douglas MacArthur. When MacArthur told him to place it on the floor, Shirasu demanded a table to show respect.

The representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Komeito, Japan Restoration Party, Communist Party, and Democratic Party for the People expressed their views on the proposals for realistic and long-term reform made by Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa, President of the GPAJ and Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Global Governance. This meeting was convened and chaired by Mr. Seishiro ETO, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee of the National Diet of Japan for World Federalism. Mr. Mitsuo Ohashi, President of the World Federation Movement Association, a civil society organization, also attended the meeting. Please click here for an unofficial record of the meeting written in Japanese.

Chair of the Global Governance Forum based in Geneva and Madrid visited the National Diet of Japan on 16 May 2023 and met with Mr. ETO Seishiro and other members of the Parliamentary Committee of the National Diet of Japan for World Federalism. Please click here for a summary report of the discussion.

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 summary record of discussions that took place in this symposium.

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.

Golden Week greetings from my daughter Erika with her cat. May 1, 2023, in Switzerland.

In anticipation of the 30th Anniversary Commemoration of the Late UNV Nakata Atsuhiro, UNV interviewed Professor Sukehiro HASEGAWA, Former Deputy Executive Coordinator of the UN Volunteers Programme. For more details of the interview, please click here.

As part of the final task of my life, I have made my tombstone. As a kokorozashi, I carved “the aspiration of peacebuilding is the spirit of harmony.” Mr. Stephen Kinloch and Mr. Ken Inoue, who have been engaged in peacebuilding activities worldwide as staff members of the United Nations, visited the site.

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.

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.

Arbenita Sopaj, a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Peacebuilding Association, and External Relations Officer of the ACUNS Tokyo Liaison Office, highlights the pivotal role Japan can play at the Hiroshima G7 Summit. Please click here for her article in Japan Today on March 18, 2023.

Mr. Noguchi underlined the significance of the fact that Khmer Rouge crimes committed more than 40 years ago was finally punished, and justice was brought about, even partially. Of course, because there is no statute of limitations on war crimes or crimes against humanity, that should have a huge impact on the ongoing situation in Ukraine where countless war crimes are committed. It has become clear by the operation of this Cambodian tribunal that it is very difficult to escape the long reach of justice even after several decades. These are unfortunately useful lessons learned in this particular context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

UN University Rector David MALONE held a talk with GPAJ Special Advisor Yasushi AKASHI and President Sukehiro HASEGAWA at the International House of Japan in Tokyo before his retirement on 28 February, and his successor, Professor Tshilidzi MARWALA, commences his work on 1 March 2023.

Please click here for the video recording of the online seminar on Japan`s international peace cooperation, which was held on Saturday, 28 January 2023 Japan standard time.

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.