Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
"PECC International Workshop on Social Resilience"
His Excellency Mr. Koichi Takemasa,
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Japan

March 4, 2010
International House of Japan

Japanese

PECC Co-Chair, Mr. Jusuf Wanandi, Chair of Japan National Committee for PECC, Ambassador Nogami, esteemed guests: It is a great pleasure and honor to offer opening remarks on this important occasion.

My name is Koichi Takemasa, and I currently serve as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

Before beginning my remarks, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the people of Chile, our friend of pacific region, affected by the earthquake. Government of Japan has already announced a package of assistance to Chile and is ready to consider further cooperation.
Incidentally, the first chair of the Japan National Committee for Pacific PECCEconomic Cooperation Council (PECC), which is hosting today's symposium, was the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, the late Okita Saburo. Before I became a Diet Member, I had the opportunity to work for Mr. Okita, an experience for which I remain truly grateful. Many years have passed since that time and I am deeply moved by this opportunity to participate in today's PECC-sponsored symposium as a representative of the Government of Japan.

I would like to warmly welcome you to today's International Workshop on Social Resilience. The Government of Japan attaches great importance to the issues you will discuss in the coming days, as we have been actively advancing these crucial issues in the international arena, including in APEC.

2010 is a very important year for Japan. Fifteen years since hosting APEC in Osaka, Japan is once again serving as APEC Chair. APEC-related meetings will be held throughout Japan this year - from Sapporo in the North to Okinawa in the South - culminating in the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Yokohama this November. The first APEC Senior Officials Meeting and related meetings have already taken place in Hiroshima beginning on February 22nd.

Today's workshop is being hosted by the PECC, which has, while maintaining its independence, shared its high level of expertise and research with APEC, offering coordinated support to APEC's activities. I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to all PECC members for your many achievements and active contributions to APEC over the years.

The theme chosen by Japan for APEC 2010 is "Change and Action." Twenty years have already passed since APEC was established in 1989. Throughout this period, international and regional economic conditions have undergone dramatic transformations due to globalization driven by advances in information technology, the emergence of climate change and other environmental and energy challenges, and the birth of new regional frameworks such as ASEAN Plus 3 and the East Asia Summit. The recent economic and financial crisis has illustrated that misguided policy responses to at least some aspects of the new circumstances, had a grave impact on many people and societies in the region. It also underscored the issues that need to be addressed in order to overcome the current crisis and prevent future ones. The APEC 2010 theme, "Change and Action," is rooted in our firm belief that, in order for APEC to continue playing an important role, it will need to map out the necessary changes, transform them into actions, and create a framework capable of dealing effectively with the issues of the 21st Century.

Specifically, this year's main APEC agenda has the following three pillars :1) regional economic integration (REI) through furthering the trade and investment liberalization and facilitation agenda that APEC has been advancing since its establishment; 2) human security to ensure a safer business environment; and 3) charting a new regional growth strategy to overcome the recent economic and financial crisis. The issues to be discussed in today's workshop are closely linked to the last pillar - developing a regional growth strategy - and I assure you that the Government of Japan is very interested in hearing your views on building social resilience in this context.

During last year's APEC Leaders Meeting in Singapore, the Leaders shared the view that "inclusive growth" is an important part of the region's new growth strategy. In my understanding, "inclusive growth" involves implementing structural adjustments that will enhance opportunities for all members of our societies to benefit from growth. It also involves strengthening social resilience to help individuals, especially the most vulnerable members of society, overcome short-term difficulties while providing incentives for long-term efforts.

Many approaches have been put forward to achieve "inclusive growth," including granting small and medium-sized enterprises and women entrepreneurs better access to the global market and capital; facilitating the retraining, skills upgrading and mobility of our workforce; increasing investment in education to enable people to strengthen their abilities and obtain high quality jobs; and building social safety nets such as unemployment and health insurance programs. In the past, these areas were not necessarily linked directly to economic growth, but they are now gaining attention as areas that will support growth in the future.

The importance of "inclusive growth" has been advocated by a variety of international institutions and APEC has developed its own actions to achieve inclusive growth. Through Ecotech, APEC's Economic and Technical Cooperation mechanism, APEC members have shared best practices and promoted capacity-building programs. As this year's APEC Chair, Japan would like to deepen discussions on inclusive growth, bring a variety of viewpoints together, and tie these viewpoints to as many concrete actions as possible.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that today's workshop will provide a venue for examining social resilience from a variety of angles, including those of Japan and international society, and making solid and useful recommendations for APEC 2010.

I wish you all the best for a successful workshop. Thank you very much.