Japan's Policy toward the United Nations in the Post-Cold War World

The world has undergone enormous structural changes in the aftermath of the Cold War as the international community strives to create a new framework for global peace and prosperity. On the political front, every effort is being made to find guarantees for peace and security. On the economic front, the international community is working to ensure and increase prosperity while addressing pressing issues such as those related to the environment and population. Creating a new framework to achieve these goals requires considerable effort. As the international community works toward finding solutions, it is vital to look toward the United Nations which is the only international organization with near universal representation. We should thus make efforts to strengthen the functions of the United Nations by implementing reforms in order to reflect the reality of today's world.

Since the end of World War II, the principle of assigning a central role to the United Nations has been a main pillar of Japan's foreign policy. In addition to its contributions to personnel and financial support for peacekeeping operations and other UN efforts to safeguard global peace and security, Japan is firmly committed to implementing reforms that will further strengthen the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Iikura Guest House, Tokyo on 11 November 1999