Press Releases
Opening Message from Foreign Minister MOTEGI for the “World Tsunami Awareness Day 2025” Event At the United Nations Headquarters in New York With the Participation of High School Students from Miyagi Prefecture
On November 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan co-organized an event for “World Tsunami Awareness Day 2025” with the Permanent Missions of Chile, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Thailand, among others, as well as other related international organizations. On behalf of the Government of Japan, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs, sent an opening message to the event, which was delivered by Ambassador YAMAZAKI Kazuyuki, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations. Three high school students from Miyagi Prefecture also participated in the event and shared their experiences.
- In his message, Minister MOTEGI underscored that the Government of Japan, leveraging its expertise, has been actively addressing the increasingly severe and frequent disasters around the world, exacerbated by factors such as climate change. He also stressed that the transmission of memories and experiences from disasters is a vital duty incumbent upon current generations.
- Minister MOTEGI also made reference to the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in Sendai in 2027, and expressed Japan’s strong determination, as a country that has experienced numerous disasters and amass a wealth of expertise in disaster risk reduction, to lead global disaster risk reduction efforts towards building sustainable and resilient societies worldwide.
- The three high school students from Miyagi expressed their enthusiasm for the “High School Students Summit on “World Tsunami Awareness Day” 2025”, which is scheduled to be held on November 27 and 28 in the city of Sendai. In conjunction with the upcoming Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, they presented their own efforts and community-level initiatives in the field of disaster risk reduction.
(Reference1) “World Tsunami Awareness Day”
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.
(Reference2) High School Students Summit on “World Tsunami Awareness Day”
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 seventh summit will be held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture on November 27 and 28.
