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.
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.
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.
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.
On April 12, 2023, in response to the request of Chairperson INOGUCHI Kuniko of the Foreign Policy and Security Research Committee meeting of the House of Councilors, Messrs. AKASHI Akashi, KITAOKA Shinichi, and YOSHIKAWA Motohide provided their views on the need for reforming the Security Council of the United Nations. Please click here for a full video recording of the meeting.
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.