Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2010
6. Taking a Leadership Role in the International Community
In order to take a leadership role to realize the common interests of Japan and the international community, Japan will actively contribute to the resolution of global issues as well as lead international discussions and propose initiatives.
To tackle global issues, Japan pioneered and has actively promoted and implemented the concept of human security since the 1990s. In 2010, in particular, major strides were made in the discussion of this concept, including the release of a UN Secretary-General report, followed by the holding of the first formal debate at the UN General Assembly, the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution, and the reference made in the outcome document of the UN summit meeting. Japan will continue to deepen and promote international discussions on human security in cooperation with NGOs, academia, international fora, and others.
Furthermore, Japan is committed to resolving global issues, such as environmental issues including climate change, infectious diseases, and terrorism. On the climate change issue, for example, Japan will support the promotion of climate change measures of developing countries. In addition, Japan will actively and flexibly provide fast start financing to advance Japanese negotiations aimed at establishing a fair and effective international framework in which all major economies participate and reaching agreement on ambitious targets.
With a view to achieving the internationally shared goals of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Japan is providing robust assistance. At the UN Summit on the MDGs held in September 2010, Prime Minister Kan proposed effective assistance models in both the areas of health and education and pledged assistance of US$5.0 billion and US$3.5 billion for both areas, respectively, over five years beginning in 2011. Starting with these two areas, Japan is strongly resolved to make efforts for the achievement of the MDGs by 2015.