Press Releases
Video Message from Foreign Minister IWAYA for the “World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024” Event (at the United Nations Headquarters, New York)
On November 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) co-organized an event for “World Tsunami Awareness Day” 2024 with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and the Permanent Missions of Chile, Maldives, Thailand, etc. and other related international organizations. On behalf of the Government of Japan, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, sent a video message (English / Japanese) to the event.
- At the beginning of his message, Minister IWAYA expressed appreciation for Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UNDRR, as well as for relevant states and organizations for their efforts to hold this event. He then stated the responsibility to pass the lessons learned from the past disasters to future generations, noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of December 2004.
- Minister IWAYA stated that the theme of this event, “Youth Engagement, Education and Empowering the Next Generation” plays an important role in disaster risk reduction. He gave the example of the High School Students Summit on “World Tsunami Awareness Day” hosted by Japan since 2016, at which high school students from around the world proactively learn from each other about disaster risk reduction. Minister IWAYA also expressed his expectations for the three high school students who coordinated the last month’s High School Students Summit in Kumamoto and will deliver speeches at this event, hoping they will share the outcomes of the summit with the world .
- Noting that disaster risk reduction is key to achieving the SDGs, Minister IWAYA hoped that the event would raise awareness of the threat of tsunamis and help realize a world where we “Leave no one behind”, and stated that Japan would continue to contribute to disaster risk reduction around the globe.
In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution, co-sponsored by 142 countries (including Japan), to designate November 5 as “World Tsunami Awareness Day” in order to raise awareness of and promote countermeasures against tsunami risks.
The summit has been held since 2016 as a platform for high school students around the globe to learn about the threat of tsunamis and other disasters as well as their disaster risk reduction. This year, the sixth summit was held in Kumamoto Prefecture on October 23 and 24.