Press Releases
Exchange of Views between Foreign Minister Kamikawa and the Female Ambassadors in Tokyo
On March 25, commencing at 3:45 p.m. for approximately an hour, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan visited the Embassy of the United Mexican States in Japan and held an exchange of views with the 19 female Ambassadors in Tokyo. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Kamikawa introduced the number of Japan’s female ambassadors and the percentage of women who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year. She also stated that she is promoting Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) from the perspective of building resilient and diverse societies. She then stated that she would like to consider today’s discussion as the fifth meeting on “WPS + Innovation” and to exchange views on women's participation in various fields, including the experiences of the female ambassadors in attendance and the efforts of their respective countries.
- Then, Dr. Palesa Mosetse, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Ms. Melba Pría, Ambassador of the United Mexican States, and 19 other female ambassadors and chargées d'affaires ad interim made remarks on women's participation and gender policies including WPS in their countries, as well as their own experiences from a woman's perspective and possible manner of cooperation with Japan, followed by a frank exchange of views.
- In conclusion, Minister Kamikawa expressed her gratitude for the valuable comments and frank exchange of opinions, and said that she would like to continue to work closely with their countries on further promotion of WPS, by sharing knowledge and information. The exchange of views ended in a friendly atmosphere.
In 2000, for the first time in the Security Council's history, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted "Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Resolution 1325," which clearly stated that international peace, conflict prevention, and conflict resolution require the equal participation of women, protection from sexual violence in conflict, and gender equality. To implement this resolution and subsequent resolutions, Japan formulated the first national action plan in 2015, the second in 2019, and the third in 2023.