Statement by Mr. Taro Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs, on the Appointment of Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations

October 14, 2006
Japanese

Japan cordially welcomes the appointment of Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations. Japan has been supporting the view that the next Secretary-General should be selected from an Asian country. Mr. Ban will be the first Asian Secretary-General of the United Nations in the past 35 years. The Government of Japan is particularly delighted that the new Secretary-General was selected from the Republic of Korea, a country that embodies the remarkable development and growth that have characterized Asia in those 35 years.
Reforming the United Nations is extremely important if the international community were to effectively tackle issues of the 21st century through this organization. Promoting reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council and the management reforms, is an urgent task for all Member States including Japan. There is a widely shared recognition among the Member States that we must achieve concrete results urgently.

Japan intends to continue to lead discussions among the Member States to further advance United Nations reform including that of the Security Council. Japan hopes that the next Secretary-General will also take the initiative, as the chief administrative officer of this organization, in creating a United Nations fitting for the 21st century.
The Government of Japan also takes this opportunity to express its deep gratitude to the outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his immeasurable contribution to the international community through his continuous efforts over the past ten years to maintain international peace and security, to resolve various international issues and to reform the organization itself.

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