GPAJ YEAR-END GET-TOGETHER (28/12/2022)
Members of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan had a year-end lunch in Hiroo, Shibuya City in Tokyo on December 28 and visited a temple, Showin-Ji.
2022 (近況報告)
Merry Christmas 2022 (08/12/2022)
Merry Christmas from Corinne, Sofie and Cedric Werberich, joined by Anita and Suki in Germany.
Mr. KANO Takehiro discussed Japan’s international peace cooperation activities with Professor Hasegawa. (09/11/2022)
Mr. KANO Takehiro, Director-General of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, met with Professor HASEGAWA Sukehiro and discussed the current and future directions of Japan`s international peace cooperation activities.
Timor-Leste admitted ASEAN membership. (11/11/2022)
In Phnom Penh, ASEAN admitted Timor-Leste today “in principle…
Timorese government officials visited Former SRSG Hasegawa. (08/10/2022)
Timorese government officials visited Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Timor-Leste Hasegawa and briefed him about the economic and social situation in the country. They stressed the need to develop alternative economy as the country cannot depend on the petroleum resources forever. Seen in this photo are from right Mr. Hernani Soares, General Director for Administration and Finance of the Ministry of High Education, Science and Culture, Commissioner Antonio Freitas of the Civil Service Commission and Agostinho Letencio de Deus, Director General of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP). Reported by Masakuni Tanimoto Secretary-General of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan.
KISHIDA urges and BIDEN supports UN Security Council reform at the UN General Assembly (20-21/09/2022)
The Security Council reform process took its new turn as Japanese Prime Minister Fumiko Kishida urged on 20 September the starting of negotiation based on draft papers and US President supported on 21 September the idea of increasing the number of both permanent and non-permanent members in the reform Council. Please click here for their statements.
Ambassadors SHINYO and HOSHINO of Japan Advocate a Realistic Approach to UN Security Council Reform (17/09/2022)
Professor Takahiro SHINYO of Kwansei Gakuin University and Professor Toshiya HOSHINO of Osaka University, who have served as Japanese Ambassadors to the United Nations, participated in the panel discussions on United Nations Security Council Reform organized by the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo on September 8. Professor SHINYO proposed to create 6 to 8 semi-permanent members or longer-term non-permanent members with renewable terms of 4-8 years that allows for their re-election. Professor HOSHINO suggested that the resolution stipulating the expansion of the Security council members be submitted to the General Assembly by the end of 2023 for its adoption by September 2025 marking the 60th anniversary of the previous expansion of the non-permanent members of the Security Council in 1965. Please click here to view the details of the proposal for realistic reform of the UN Security Council.
UN Senior Official Takakazu ITO discusses Japan’s leadership role and the growing participation of countries in triangular partnerships to strengthen UN peacekeeping operations. (11/08/2022)
Triangular partnerships are now part of the backbone of United Nations peacekeeping. This was Mr. Ito’s central message during his participation at a recent GPAJ seminar “Japan’s International Peace Cooperation: Past, Present, and Future.” His remarks focused on the growth and benefits of the UN Triangular Partnership Programme (TPP), as well as Japan’s contributions to peacekeeping operations through TPP.
The TPP, which brings together the UN Secretariat, Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), and Member States with needed expertise and resources, started out as an engineering training project in East Africa in 2015. Now, seven years later, it has evolved and expanded into a comprehensive training and capacity-building programme, diverse in its themes and regions of operation. This shift is largely due to the growing recognition that TPP is much more than “investments” in the potential deployment of T/PCCs. Rather, they are “enablers” that support T/PCCs to deploy better-trained units and maximize impact in missions.
GPAJ President Hasegawa Receives Foreign Minister’s Commendation
Sukehiro Hasegawa, President of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan, received the Foreign Minister’s Commendation on August 10th. As a former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (Timor-Leste), he was commended for his contribution to peacebuilding and political stability in the country, as well as his contribution to the academic development of peacebuilding and international cooperation. Congratulations to our association. (Takaaki MIZUNO, member of the Board of Directors, GPAJ)
Hasegawa advocates strengthening the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation. (21/07/2022)
At the conference of the Future of the United Nations held at Jindal University in India 0n 20 February 2019, Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa, President of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan suggested in response to Mr. Srimal Fernando`s question that small countries around India should work harder to strengthen the regional organization, SAARC, instead of just fearing India. Click here for the video recording.
Professor Takahiro SHINYO commented on the inability to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (04/07/2022))
In his interview with the Hokkaido Shinbun, Professor Takahiro SHINYO of Kwansei Gakuin University commented on the inability to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and indicated his views on how to reform the United Nations Security Council. Please click here for the full text of his interview.
Grandson, Kenji, participated in a soccer tournament in Switzerland on 26 June 2022.
My grandson Kenji and his father Stephen are in this picture.
UN General Assembly elects Japan along with Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland as New Members of the Security Council (09/06/2022)
According to UN News, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, announced on Friday, 9 June that Japan along with Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland had been elected to serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the period of two years from January 2023 to December 2024 by votes cast by the members of the General Assembly. (Photo: NEWS. UN. ORG)
USG Atul Khare: “Japan’s Contributions to UN Peace Operations” (16-19/05/2022)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare visited Japan and exchanged his views on Japan`s international peace cooperation activities with members of the Diet of Japan in Tokyo on 16 May. He made his lectures at the Kwansei Gakuin University and the Kyoto University of the Arts on 19 May. Please click here for the full texts of his speeches.
UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 30,000 Ukrainians Going Back Home Every Day (16/04/2022)
According to OCHA, more than 870,000 people who fled abroad since the Russian invasion on 24 February, have now returned to Ukraine, amid concerns about deteriorating food security inside the country. (Photo: UNICEF/Julia Kochetova)
Visit to Hitachi seaside park
Greetings from the Hitachi National Seaside Park we visited in March 2022. From right to left: Elizabeth Gamarra, Ken Inoue (on top), Fujiko Amano, and Sukehiro Hasegawa.
Visit to Kairakuen & Seaside Park in Mito, Ibaraki
A group of GPAJ members: Ken INOUE, Fujiko AMANO, Elizabeth Gamarra, Naoko KUMAGAI and Sukehiro HASEGAWA, visited the Kairakuen Garden in Mito and National Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki on March 15 and 16, 2022.