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Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on the Election of the Next Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization

June 28, 2011
Japanese

  1. On Tuesday, June 28 (local time), at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council Meeting held in London, Mr. Koji Sekimizu, Director of the Maritime Safety Division of the IMO, whom Japan has been supporting as a candidate, was elected as the next Secretary-General of the IMO. Japan welcomes the election of Mr. Sekimizu.

  2. The IMO plays a major role in the formulation of rules regarding maritime issues such as maritime safety and the prevention of maritime pollution. In recent years, the IMO is also playing an important role in the review regarding the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from ships and the formulation of the code of conduct concerning the piracy off the coast of Somalia, among others. The IMO is an important organization for Japan, for which marine transport is the major means of commodity distribution.

  3. Japan strongly expects that Mr. Sekimizu will assume the weighty responsibility of the Secretary-General role and succeed in his endeavors. Japan intends to further strengthen relations with the IMO, and make further active contributions to the activities for the enhancement of measures against global maritime issues.
    • (*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)
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