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.

My grandson Kenji and his father Stephen are in this picture.

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)

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.

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)

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.

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.

As UNV turns 50, we feature an interview with Sukehiro Hasegawa, former Deputy Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme from 1987 to 1993. Mr Hasegawa helped transform UNV from primarily a community development organization into a strong partner for UN peacekeeping efforts. Find out more about Mr Hasegawa’s reflections on our mandate, work and partners 30 years ago.

UN Secretary-General`s Special Envoy for Myanmar Christine Bergner met with Yasushi AKASHI (Former SRSG for Cambodia, former Yugoslavia) Sukehiro HASEGAWA (Former SRSG for Timor-Leste) Tadamichi YAMAMOTO (Former SRSG for Afghanistan) at the Kyoto International Peacebuilding Center on the Tokyo Gaien Campus on May 26, 2021. Former Japanese Ambassadors to the United Nations, Kenzo OSHIMA, Takahiro SNINYO and Toshiya HOSHINO also participated in the meeting along with Mr. Takahiro NIWA, Chairman of the Council of the Kyoto International Peacebuilding Center.

During his online conversation with Japanese diplomats and scholars, former President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate José Ramos-Horta　praised Japan for upholding the principle of democratic governance. He was referring to the resolution passed by the Lower House on June 8, 2021, which condemned the coup d’état staged by the Myanmar military. The resolution, adopted by a majority vote in the Lower House, demanded early restoration of democratic governance in Myanmar.

Here is a proposal by 3 former Japanese Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nation and 3 former Japanese Ambassadors to the United Nations. Please click here for the full text that appeared in the Japan Times.

Please click here for the Advisory Statement and Recommendations.

Aleksandra Babovic and Arbenita Sopaji, two members of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ), examine Japan`s approach to the Myanmar crisis in their article published by the Institute for Policy Studies dated April 5, 2021. Please click here for full article.