Former SRSG Hasegawa calls for closer cooperation among Japan, China and Korea in contributing to UN Peace Operations (20th July 2015)

 At an international symposium organized by the Academic Council on UN System (ACUNS) on East Asian contributions to UN peace operations held in Geneva on 15th June 2015, former SRSG Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa informed the participants about the past, present and future of Japan’s contributions to UN peace operations. Please click here for the full text.

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Gaimusho Deputy D-G Takizaki explains ownership claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam for islands in the South China Sea (11/07/2015)

 Mr. Shigeki Takizaki, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan made an informative presentation on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Both island and maritime claims are made by several states including the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Their disputes concern in particular both the Spratly and the Paracel islands. The interests of different nations include securing fishing areas around the archipelagos; the potential exploitation of crude oil and natural gas under the waters of various parts of the South China Sea.

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Ambassador Kenzo Oshima on the Prospect for UN Reform (16/06/2015)

 Ambassador Oshima in his one-hour presentation to the participants of a peacebuilding seminar held at Hosei University on May 30, 2015 appraised some important achievements made in the ‘Outcome Document’ of September 2005, on the occasion of the summit meeting commemorating the UN 50th anniversary. They included the establishment of Peace-building Commission (PBC), the Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the formal launching of new concepts such as ‘Responsibility to Protect’ and ‘Human Security’. (Click here for the rest.)

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