The 5th workshop invited Ms. Watanabe Kankolongo Sayaka, as a guest speaker. As
Representative of WELgee, she has been actively engaged in supports to refugees and refugee-status applicants in Japan. In the 5th workshop, WELgee’s activities were presented and discussion among participants.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mr. José Ramos-Horta, was sworn in as President of Timor-Leste on 19 May 2022, ahead of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s newest country. The delegation led by Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, included Professor Takaaki Mizuno of Kanda University of International Studies, Professor Mayumi Yamada of Ritsumeikan University, Professor Takeshi Sato Daimon of Waseda University, Professor Juichi Inada of Senshu University and Ms. Akiko Abe of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ). (Photo and Reporter: Akiko ABE)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare visited Japan and exchanged his views on Japan`s international peace cooperation activities with members of the Diet of Japan in Tokyo on 16 May. He made his lectures at the Kwansei Gakuin University and the Kyoto University of the Arts on 19 May. Please click here for the full texts of his speeches.
Ambassador Tsuneo stated that it is not the stage where we are just discussing very small details. Why? Because we should not be unrealistic. Are the US, Russia, and China so different? No, they are not different. For example, the democratic US government said that war criminals must be punished. At the same time, the US was not a member of the ICC. We need a special tribunal if we want to punish those who are responsible for these atrocities. Once you have already killed so many people, negotiations are always needed, but we should pursue justice. Do you place Mr. Putin and welcome new permanent members with nuclear power and veto in the next 10 years? This is not acceptable. How people can believe in a reform of the UN with Putin and nuclear weapons there? We are talking about the realistic approach, but these realistic options are not realistic at all. Only to make an extension of what we have agreed upon immediately after World War II. What we are experiencing is not a second Cold War, this is a hot war, a total invasion by a big country into the neighboring country. Are we supposed to agree on some small compromise and say thank you, welcome again? That is not a reform. We are not talking about the past, but the coming generations.
Ambassador Korsunsky started his presentation by stating that this crisis is a war, a full-scale brutal war that was unimaginable a little more than two months ago. Of course, Ukraine knew that there is a very aggressive neighbor the assault on Ukrainian territory and sovereignty began 8 years ago in 2014, and people always knew that it would be difficult to resolve territorial problems with Russia – who knows better about those issues than Japan? On 24 February a classical war began of military assault on Ukraine, with missiles, planes, and tanks in Ukrainian territory. Since then, for 67 days Ukraine fights against Russian aggression, and definitely in this war is deeply involved in partnerships negotiations and assistance with partners in the world.
According to OCHA, more than 870,000 people who fled abroad since the Russian invasion on 24 February, have now returned to Ukraine, amid concerns about deteriorating food security inside the country. (Photo: UNICEF/Julia Kochetova)
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Former Foreign Minister and Ambassador to Japan Charles Murigande of Rwanda to Japan made a critical review of the developments in Rwanda since its genocide in 1994. He was joined by Hiroshi KATO, Former Vice President of Japan International Development Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Professor at the International University of Japan. Please click here for its video recording.
Former General Manager of the North Eastern Army of the Ground Self-Defense Force, Goro Matsumura, presented the current and future prospect of Japan’s international peace cooperation activities, the global trend of partnership peace cooperation activities, two approaches to national security, and the relationship between Japan’s national security in general and international peace cooperation activities as well as the future prospect.
A group of GPAJ members: Ken INOUE, Fujiko AMANO, Elizabeth Gamarra, Naoko KUMAGAI and Sukehiro HASEGAWA, visited the Kairakuen Garden in Mito and National Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki on March 15 and 16, 2022.