A symposium to discuss international solidarity levy was held at the international conference hall in the international conference hall of the First Building of the House of Representatives for which Mr. Matakana TAKEMOTA performed as the general master of ceremony. The symposium considered several measures to secure the necessary funds for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations for 2030. The opening remarks by Chair Seishiro ETO and Vice Chair Ichirou AISAWA was followed by a commemorative speech by Professor Emeritus Hiroshi Kaneko. GPAJ President Sukehiro HASEGAWA, Secretary-General Masakuni TANIMOTO and Auditor Ken INOUE participated in the symposium.

Keynote Lecture was delivered by Takahiro SHINYO, Professor of Kwansei Gakuin University and Former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in New York; Panel Discussants were Professor Kiyotaka KAWABATA of Fukuoka Women’s University and Ms. Chikako HIROSE, former director of the United Nations Center for Regional Development in Nagoya.

Former Ambassadors Iwao KITAHARA and Yoshitaka HANADA joined in the lively discussions. (Reported by Taketo Yamaguchi)

The other panelists were Mr. Kwesi Aning, Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, and Mr. Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director Division for Policy Analysis and Public Information, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Chief JICA Researcher Hiroaki Shiga explains how the compromises have been made concerning the land reform in South Africa since the African National Congress took over power in 1991 (Reported by Fujiko Amano)

ACUNS Annual Academic Meeting was held at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Six Japanese academic participated in the event. At the Plenary, Kihara-Hunt Ai, University of Tokyo served a panelist. The Japanese scholars who presented papers are Hiromi Fujishige, Associate Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University, Ayako Inokuchi, Doctoral student, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University, Professors Yasushi Katsuma, Waseda University, Yasue Mochizuki of Kwansei Gakuin University and Yasuhiro Ueki of Sophia University. For more detail, see https://acuns.org/am19-plenary-sessions/

　In his presentation to Japanese staff at UN Headquarters, Mr. Hasegaw…

At an Interactive Forum Highlighting Japanese Initiatives Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals held at the United Nations Headquarters on June 6, Global Peacebuilding Association President Sukehiro Hasegawa explained the critically important roles played by co-chairs of the High Level Panel on the Sustainable Development Goals namely Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, as well as Emilia Pires, Timor-Leste’s Minister of Finance, who instilled the spirit of self-reliance in developing their own countries.

Mr. Takashi Genda, Commissioned Officer Ret/Major General JASDF、Regional Director of Reven International, Professor Yuji Uesugi of Waseda University, Professor Mayumi Yamada, Ritsumeikan University and Ms. Yuko Sakurai, Former Deputy Director of the Economic Treaty Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Member Fukuya Total Law Offices participated in the Conference along with Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa, President of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan, Director of the Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS) Tokyo Liaison Office, and the Executive Director for Academic Exchange of the United Nations Association of Japan. Mr. Takakazu Ito, Senior Programme Officer of the Department of Operational Support represented the United Nations at the conference.