The advance of globalization has resulted in massive and rapid flows of people, goods, capital, and information around the world, exacerbating problems transcending national borders like the activities of transnational organized crime (the trafficking of weapons and drugs) and the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The expansion and increasing sophistication of economic activity have exacerbated global environmental problems, including global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer, and energy problems. Since the end of the Cold War, there have been numerous conflicts based on religious, racial, ethnic, and other historical and cultural factors, accompanied by human rights violations, increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the spread of antipersonnel mines and small arms.

In this context, greater importance is being given to the concept of human security, in addition to the traditional concept of state security?where the state protects the lives and property of its citizens?in calling for increased attention on each individual to eliminate threats that deprive them of their dignity. The human security concept emphasizes community building as a way of protecting individuals from direct threats and allowing them to realize their full potential. The promotion of human security is a challenge that a globalizing world must meet.

Japan believes that it is important to make the 21st century a "human-centered" century, and it acknowledges the concept of human security as an important perspective in its foreign policy. A proposal by then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000 has resulted in the establishment of the Commission on Human Security, co-chaired by Sadako Ogata, the Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Japan for Afghanistan and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Amartya Sen, a Nobel laureate in economics and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. The Commission's report, approved in February 2003, contains a definition of human security as well as valuable proposals for the use of the concept by the international community and directions for future efforts. After being submitted to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the report will also be presented to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

In addition to capacity and nation building, the report emphasizes the importance of community building, which is positioned between the two. To achieve human security, it calls for a comprehensive approach that addresses a broad range of issues, from conflict to development and poverty, as well as for an emphasis on people and their communities. The report emphasizes the importance of combining protection at the state level with self-reliance at the individual level, which aligns with Japan's traditional thinking on economic cooperation. It offers the following recommendations concerning the international community's approach to the promotion of human security. (1) To protect people from the proliferation of weapons, disarmament should be combined with action on development issues, such as employment and education, and efforts to remove the causes of conflict. Action is also needed to deal with transnational organized crime. (2) A comprehensive international framework for the movement of people should be established. (3) The activities of governments, international organizations, and NGOs should be coordinated during the transitional phase from the cessation of hostilities to the start of reconstruction, and transitional funds should be established. (4) To achieve economic growth, which is vital to poverty reduction, support should be provided to trade and to markets, and effective use should be made of the market mechanism. (5) Priority should be given to enabling all to receive basic healthcare. The emphasis should be on preventing avoidable diseases and the establishment of community-based public health systems. (6) Solutions must be found to the pharmaceutical patent problem. (7) To enhance people's capacity, international and domestic mechanisms to provide basic education for all should be strengthened. And (8) education based on respect for diversity should be encouraged.

In March 1999 Japan established the Trust Fund for Human Security in the United Nations to strengthen cooperation in human security. As of the end of fiscal year 2002, it had contributed approximately ¥22.9 billion - the largest amount provided to any United Nations trust fund. As of the end of January 2003, the Trust Fund had provided a total of $92.63 million for 72 projects. By sector, $15.03 million had been offered for 25 projects in the area of health and medical care, $12.63 million for 16 projects to alleviate poverty, and $51.55 million for 11 projects to deal with conflicts. By region, $23.15 million had been provided for 29 projects in Asia and $9.82 million for 11 projects in Africa.

Based on the concept of human security, Japan will continue to actively extend ODA in the areas of education, health and medical care, the environment, gender equality, the consolidation of peace, and nation building. This perspective will be reflected in the expansion of grant assistance for grassroots projects, which will be reconfigured as grant assistance for grassroots human security projects from fiscal year 2003.