Japan and the United Nations
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio by Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States to the United Nations
April 19, 2024
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On April 19, starting at around 9:40 a.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, received a courtesy call by Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations (UN). The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s visit to Japan and stated that the leadership by Japan and the United States is more important today than ever to lead the world to cooperation, not to division or confrontation. He also stressed that Japan would like to deepen its cooperation with the United States in the UN, including in the Security Council (SC). In response, Ambassador Thomas Greenfield congratulated the success of Prime Minister Kishida’s recent official visit to the United States and stated that the United States would like to deepen Japan-U.S. and Japan-U.S.-ROK cooperation including in the U.N., making the most of the opportunity of Japan being a member of the UNSC.
- Prime Minister Kishida expressed appreciation for Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield's cooperation on the UNSC Ministerial Meeting in March. Touching on Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s plan to visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, Prime Minister Kishida stated that he hopes she will have a meaningful visit through learning firsthand the realities of nuclear weapons use.
- Prime Minister Kishida stressed the importance of cooperation in dealing with North Korea, including the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abductions issue, and towards the full implementation of relevant UNSC resolutions. Both sides concurred on continuing to work closely together in this regard.
- In addition, both sides concurred on coordinating even more closely on a wide variety of areas such as the situation in the Middle East and UNSC reform.