Chapter 3
Japan's Foreign Policy to Promote National and Global Interests
5 Japan's Efforts at the United Nations (UN)
(1) The United Nations (UN)
A Japan-UN Relationship
The UN is an international organization with a universal character, in which almost all the countries in the world hold membership (193 countries as of December 2017). With a high level of expertise, it addresses various challenges that the international community faces in diverse areas, including conflict resolution and peacebuilding, counter-terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, development, human rights, environment and climate change, and disaster risk reduction.
UN Headquarters (Photo: UN Photo/Andrea Brizzi)
Japan is engaged more proactively in efforts to further strengthen cooperation through the UN, such as by tackling global issues, towards the realization of diplomatic goals that cannot be realized by one country alone. Japan has also served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 11 times, the most frequent among the Member States, fulfilling a key role in the maintenance of peace and security in the international community.
In September, Prime Minister Abe and Foreign Minister Kono attended the 72nd UN General Assembly.
Prime Minister Abe delivered a speech at the General Debate for the five consecutive years. In addition to touching on global issues such as health and women issues, he focused on the North Korea issues in his speech. He pointed out that North Korea's nuclear and missile issues are posing an unprecedentedly grave and imminent threat. Furthermore he expressed that it is vital to urge North Korea to abandon all of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible way, and emphasized the importance of pressure rather than dialogue to achieve that end. In view of that, he called for the international community to work together to tackle the issues of North Korea. With regard to the abductions issue as well, he declared that Japan will put all effort into bringing the abductees back to Japan as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Abe attending the UN General Assembly (September 20, New York, U.S.; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
Prime Minister Abe also attended the high-level events on the global issues of health and women, and drew attention to Japan's initiatives in these aspects.
In the field of health, he attended the side event led by Japan, entitled “World Leaders for Universal Health Coverage (UHC): A High-Level Discussion at the United Nations on Achieving the SDGs through Health for All.” On this occasion, he explained that promoting UHC is an indispensable and vital means towards realizing the SDGs principle of creating a society where no one is left behind. Furthermore, he asserted that to achieve UHC, a framework that mobilizes and utilizes the resources of not only international organizations and donor countries, but also civil society and private-sector businesses, is necessary in addition to domestic financing for developing countries. In this vein, he declared Japan's determination towards promoting UHC.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe attended the ceremony for the unveiling of the IMPACT 10x10x10 Parity Report of the HeForShe campaign organized by UN Women, which calls for the involvement of boys and men in promoting gender equality. In addition to disseminating Japan's initiatives and achievements towards the realization of a “society where all women shine,” he also introduced the World Assembly for Women (WAW! 2017) initiative.
Prime Minister Abe took full advantage of his attendance at the UN General Assembly to engage actively in dialogues with high-level UN representatives and leaders of the respective countries, as well as exchanges of opinions on topics including the issues of North Korea.
In his meeting with the UN Secretary-General Guterres, Prime Minister Abe affirmed the importance of the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea by all Member States. At the same time, Prime Minister Abe conveyed that North Korea's serious intention and action towards denuclearization are needed, and that it is important to create a situation that makes North Korea request for a dialogue, by imposing further pressure on North Korea. Prime Minister Abe also called for understanding and cooperation on the abductions issue. With regard to the UN reform, he expressed that the reform of the UN cannot be fully realized without the reform of the Security Council, and affirmed that both parties will continue cooperating closely on the UN reform.
Dialogue between Prime Minister Abe and UN Secretary-General Guterres (September 19, New York, U.S. (pool photo); Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
In his dialogue with President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly Lajčák, Prime Minister Abe expressed that the launch of ballistic missiles and the nuclear tests conducted by North Korea are clear violations of the UN Security Council resolutions, and a serious blow to the non-proliferation regime. Hence, Prime Minister Abe expressed his desire to cooperate with President Lajčák on encouraging Member States to fully implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. He also called for understanding and support towards the resolution of the abductions issue. Furthermore, with regard to the reform of the UN Security Council, he expressed a strong desire to launch text-based negotiations in the intergovernmental negotiations during the current session, and conveyed his expectations for President Lajčák's leadership in this regard.
Prime Minister Abe hosted the Japan-Africa Security Council Members' Summit Meeting. During the Meeting, leaders from Africa declared their support for Japan's position on North Korea, and emphasized the importance of the UN Security Council reforms. Prime Minister Abe also hosted the Fourth Japan-Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, where the respective countries expressed their support for Japan's position on the North Korea issues, and confirmed their cooperation towards the Eighth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8) scheduled for May 2018. Prime Minister Abe also held Summit Meetings with Israel, Iran, Jordan, France, Turkey, Croatia, and the U.S., as well as a Japan-U.S.-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting. In addition, he received a courtesy call from President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Bach. In these ways, he worked actively to strengthen bilateral relations and cultivate other relationships.
During his stay in New York, Prime Minister Abe attended a ≪Washoku≫ (Japanese Cuisine) and Tourism Reception as well as an informal discussion with U.S. CEOs. Further he delivered a speech at the New York Stock Exchange. Through these occasions he offered direct explanations to experts and business people about Japan's economic and financial policies, actively disseminated information about Japan's appeal, and called for investment in Japan. Prime Minister Abe also had a social gathering with Japanese staff at UN organizations, encouraging them to play an even more active role in the UN.
Foreign Minister Kono chaired the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries on UN Security Council Reform and co-chaired the Japan-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Extended Troika Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and attended a total of 14 multilateral conferences including the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) Ministerial Meeting and the “GUAM-Japan” Foreign Ministers' Meeting. He also held 15 Foreign Minister's Meetings, including Japan-U.S.-India and Japan-China, taking the opportunity of the UN General Assembly to strengthen mutual trust with his counterparts from other countries.
In 2017, there were also many opportunities apart from the UN General Assembly for high-level exchanges.
In July, President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia Lajčák visited Japan. In addition to paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Abe, he engaged in a wide exchange of views on the North Korea issues, Security Council reforms, and SDGs with Foreign Minister Kishida.
In December, UN Secretary-General Guterres visited Japan for the first time after assuming office as the Secretary-General in January 2017. In his talk with Prime Minister Abe, the two exchanged detailed opinions about various issues concerning the international community, including the issue of North Korea and UN reforms. With regard to the issue of North Korea, they were in full concurrence that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is vital to peace and stability of the region. They also shared the recognition that dialogue with North Korea for the sake of dialogue is meaningless when it comes to North Korea; rather, it is important to engage in meaningful dialogue aimed at denuclearization. Hence, they affirmed that they will work even more closely to address the issue. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe and UN Secretary-General Guterres attended the UHC Forum 2017 organized jointly by Japan, the World Bank (WB), the World Health Organization (WHO), and others, where they disseminated a message for the international community to work hand-in-hand to promote UHC. UN Secretary-General Guterres took advantage of various opportunities during his stay in Japan to express his high appraisal of Japan's role in multilateralism and its contributions to the UN. Furthermore, in December, Foreign Minister Kono, who was on a visit to New York to attend the UN Security Council Ministerial Meeting, held talks with UN Secretary-General Guterres and President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly Lajčák.
B United Nations Security Council and its reform
(A) United Nations Security Council
The UN Security Council holds the primary responsibility within the UN for maintaining international peace and security. Its activities, including Peacekeeping Operations based on UN Security Council resolutions, are diversifying and the Council's role is expanding year by year, encompassing the efforts to address new threats such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.
Japan served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 11th time from January 2016 to the end of December 2017, having served more frequently than any other UN Member State, and contributed proactively to discussions on topics such as country-specific situations and peacebuilding. During its term on the Council, Japan made every effort to resolve North Korea's nuclear and missile issues; those efforts included contributions to drafting and the adoption of six UN Security Council resolutions in response to North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches and three nuclear tests conducted in January and September 2016, and September 2017. In December 2017, when Japan held the Presidency of the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Kono chaired the United Nations Security Council Briefing on Non-proliferation / Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Japan, as the chair of the Council, also convened an open debate on “Addressing Complex Contemporary Challenges to International Peace and Security.” In this regard, Japan made significant contributions to discussions concerning the maintenance of international peace and security (See Special Feature “Summary of Japan's contribution during its 11th term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council”).
(B) Reform of the United Nations Security Council
For more than 70 years since the establishment of the UN, although the structure of the international community has changed significantly and the UN's functions have diversified, the composition of the UN Security Council has basically remained unchanged even today. There is a common recognition in the international community on the necessity of an early reform of the UN Security Council, in order to improve its legitimacy, effectiveness, representativeness, and transparency.
Japan has contributed proactively to the international community in areas such as disarmament and non-proliferation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and “human security,” among others. To play an even more proactive role towards the realization of world peace and security through the UN, Japan has been making efforts to convince other countries in pursuit of the early realization of the UN Security Council reform, with the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent seats, and Japan's admission as a permanent member.
(C) Recent activities regarding the UN Security Council reform
Since 2009, in the UN General Assembly, Member States have been engaging in the Inter-governmental Negotiations on the UN Security Council reform. At the Inter-governmental Negotiations during the 71st session of the General Assembly (held once a month from February 2016 to June), the Co-chairs of the Inter-governmental Negotiations (UN Permanent Representatives of Romania and Tunisia) drafted a document summarizing the key points of convergence and divergence between countries, with respect to five key issues concerning the UN Security Council reform ((1) categories of membership, (2) the question of veto, (3) regional representation, (4) size of an enlarged Council and the working methods of the Security Council, and (5) relationship between the Council and the General Assembly). At the Inter-governmental Negotiations held in July 2017, the decision to pass on this document to the 72nd session (from September 2017 to September 2018) was adopted with a consensus at the UN General Assembly.
Furthermore, on October 30, President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly Lajčák appointed the Permanent Representatives of Georgia and the United Arab Emirates as new Co-chairs of the Inter-governmental Negotiations. President Lajčák himself also declared in a letter that he will be proactively involved in the process of the UN Security Council reform.
In addition, Japan also places great importance on strengthening its initiatives as a member of the G4 (Japan, India, Germany, and Brazil), a group that cooperates on promoting the UN Security Council reform. Japan hosted the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries along with the UN General Assembly High-level Week in September. At this meeting, taking into account that all aspects of reform had been thoroughly discussed by the end of the 71st session, the Ministers agreed to work with strong resolve in order to launch text-based negotiations at the Inter-governmental Negotiations during the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.
Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) on the United Nations Security Council Reform (September 20, New York, U.S.)
Japan will continue to engage proactively in the process for realizing the UN Security Council reform, in close cooperation with reform-oriented countries.
UN Security Council Chamber (Photo: UN Photo/Loey Felipe)
Japan completed its 11th term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council at the end of 2017, which made it the most frequently serving non-permanent member of the Council among all Member States. During its term on the council (from January 2016 to December 2017), Japan contributed to international peace and security by proactively addressing a broad range of issues.
Response to North Korea
During the two years of Japan's tenure at the UN Security Council, North Korea went ahead with three nuclear tests and launched as many as 40 ballistic missiles, including ballistic missiles with the intercontinental range that can reach the East Coast of the United States. Japan played a leading role in discussions at the Security Council, by working closely with the countries concerned, including the United States. During Japan's term at the Security Council, six UNSCRs were adopted including Resolution 2397, which further enhances the sanctions measures against North Korea to an unprecedented level.
In December 2017, Foreign Minister Kono presided over the UN Security Council Ministerial-Level Meeting on the North Korean issue representing Japan as the President of the UN Security Council. This meeting sent out a unified message that a nuclear-armed North Korea will never be accepted by the international community and that the full implementation of the UNSCRs by all Member States is indispensable.
Response to regional situations, including Africa and the Middle East
Japan also contributed actively to the UN Security Council's activities related to the situations in Africa and the Middle East. Africa accounts for approximately 60% of the agenda of the Security Council, and Japan has put effort into objectively and accurately assessing the volatile regional situation, and into utilizing the Security Council in an efficient and timely manner to prevent conflicts in Africa and to contribute to mid- to long-term development and stability of the affected regions. In particular, Japan organized the Security Council Open Debate on Peacebuilding in Africa in July 2016, as　the UN Security Council President. At this meeting, Japan's initiatives were highly appreciated by many participating countries, and a Statement by the President of the Security Council was adopted. This statement stressed the importance of institution-building, capacity-building, confidence-building,　rule of law and use of science and technology in peacebuilding in Africa.
With regard to the situation in the Middle East, Japan also contributed proactively to activities aimed at making progress in difficult issues such as Syria, Yemen, the Middle East peace process, and Afghanistan. This includes initiatives such as taking the lead in drawing up draft resolutions on Syria's humanitarian situation and Afghanistan.
Expanding the functions of the UN Security Council
In recent years, in addition to addressing traditional international conflicts and civil war, the UN Security Council has also organized meetings on various issues　including climate change, famine, and infectious diseases. In light of this trend, in December 2017, Japan hosted an open debate of the UN Security Council on “Addressing complex contemporary challenges to international peace and security.” Furthermore, Japan also aims to contribute to discussions based on the ideas of human security and sustaining peace, to make sure that the UN Security Council can respond effectively with complex contemporary threats from the perspective of international peace and security.
Efforts to improve the working methods of the UN Security Council
Foreign Minister Kono presiding over the United Nations Security Council Briefing (December 15, New York, United States)
As a non-permanent member of the Security Council and particularly as the Chair of the Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions, Japan has led debates on improving the working methods of the UN Security Council, including measures to enhance its efficiency, transparency and interactivity.　These include getting incoming non-permanent members to be well-acquainted with the Council's procedures prior to joining the Security Council so that they can effectively play their role from the outset of their tenure. In July 2016, Japan organized an open debate as the President of the UN Security Council, and based on these debates, a comprehensive and systematic Note by the President of the Security Council concerning the Security Council's working methods was revised in August 2017.
Japan will contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security by attempting to be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council as frequently as possible, until the achievement of the Security Council reform, including the admission of Japan as a permanent member of the Council. From this perspective, in December 2017 when it concluded its term as a non-permanent member of the Council, Japan announced that it will be running for the UNSC non-permanent membership election in 2022(serving for the term of 2023-2024).
C Administrative and Budgetary Issues of the United Nations
(A) Budget of the United Nations
The UN budget is mainly composed of the regular budget which is the biennial budget for the period from January to December of the next year, and the peacekeeping budget which is the one-year budget for the period from July to the following June.
With regard to the regular budget, final budget for the FY2016-2017 biennium amounting to approximately 5.7 billion US dollars was approved, while regular budget for FY2018-2019 biennium, amounting to approximately 5.4 billion US dollars, was approved in December 2017 at the UN General Assembly (Approximately 5.3% less than the final budget for FY2016-2017 biennium). In June, the budgets for peacekeeping operations for FY2017-2018 biennium, amounting to approximately 6.8 billion US dollars in total, were approved (Approximately 14% less than the final budget for the previous fiscal year).
(B) Japan's Contribution33
The budget, which supports the activities of the UN, is composed of assessed contributions by Member States and voluntary contributions by Member States in accordance with their policy needs. With regard to the assessed contributions, Japan contributed approximately 240 million US dollars to the UN regular budget for 2017, ranking second only to the U.S. Its contribution to peacekeeping operations for 2017 was approximately 660 million US dollars, coming third after the U.S. and China. As a major financial contributor, Japan has been encouraging the UN to make more efficient and effective use of its resources.
UN Secretary-General Guterres, who assumed office in January, positions peace initiatives and development, as well as reforms of the management of the UN, as priority issues, and is engaged in efforts to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the secretariat functions. Japan, while supporting the objectives of these reforms, is urging the UN to move forward on the reforms in a way that does not impose additional financial burden on Member States. It is expected that such reforms will enhance efficiency of the financial, budgetary, and human resource management. Based on the resolution on the policies for management reform, etc., adopted at the end of December 2017, drafts on the structure and budget for the implementation of reforms are to be submitted in May 2018, but it is expected to take time to decide the concrete contents of the reform and implement them. While continuing to bridge differences in the respective views of Member States, Japan is actively contributing to the discussion with other Member States and the UN Secretariat to ensure concrete progress in management reforms.
33 Concerning Japan's financial contributions to international organizations including the UN, refer to the section on reports concerning contributions and funding to international organizations on the MOFA website. http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/oda/shiryo/sonota.html (in Japanese only)
Genshitsu Sen
Japan-United Nations Goodwill Ambassador
and President of the United Nations Association of Japan (UNA)
Trilateral Presidents Meeting of UNA-Japan, UNA-China and UNA-ROK (August 28, Beijing, China)
Participating students of the 8th JCK Youth Forum, and participants of the Trilateral Presidents Meeting of UNA-Japan, UNA-China and UNA-ROK (August 30, Beijing Foreign Studies University, China)
I was designated as the Japan-United Nations (UN) Goodwill Ambassador by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2005, and prior to that, in 2002, I became the first private citizen to be appointed as the President of the U.N. Association of Japan. Since I am a master of tea ceremony, these appointments had probably been made in consideration of the importance of civilian exchanges through culture.
In the teachings of Wang Yangming, there is a saying “Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things were originally as one substance.” As we were originally a single body with all things in the universe, we feel the pain and suffering of others as the pain and suffering of ourselves. Although there are many difficult issues between Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) today, with that feeling, promoting civil exchanges especially among young population means all the more to us. Every people has its own unique culture. This culture should be respected, and cannot be infringed upon by anyone. To foster personalities that are able to treat everyone in the same way, it is necessary to nurture young people with a solid background that is underpinned by education. In view of that, the U.N. Association of Japan has been hosting the Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (JCK) Youth Forum (shown in the appended table) since 2010, held in each of the three countries in turn each time. The Trilateral Presidents Meeting of the U.N. Associations of the three countries is held on the day prior to the Youth Forum every year, during which the delegates discuss approaches to cooperation and coordination.
At the Trilateral Presidents Meeting held in 2017, the delegates exchanged candid opinions on the following four topics: (i) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); (ii) priority matters for the Secretary-General of the United Nations; (iii) culture dialogues on peace and development; and (iv)peacekeeping and peace building. They also affirmed their commitments towards mutual cooperation and contribution to the UN peace activities. The Youth Forum, which was held the next day, welcomed 20 university students from Japan, 20 from ROK, and 40 from the host country, China. All sessions were held in English, and the participants ate and slept together from August 29 to September 3 while they participated and had discussions in model U.N. sessions followed by breakout sessions. Although political topics would emerge from time to time, they did not get carried away by their emotions, but spoke carefully and earnestly. I believe this opportunity was a valuable experience for all the participants. It has already been decided that the next Youth Forum will be held in ROK in 2018.
I think that this Japan-China-ROK Youth Exchange has successfully taken place every year because three countries took turns to host the event; also, the participants were full of youth entrepreneurship and trying to understand each other. Year by year, the participating Japanese students are becoming more active in their discussion.
I have heard that the youths of today are becoming introverted. However, when I meet the participating youths in this forum, I take heart and feel encouraged that Japan is still doing strong.