0. Events
[Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019] Professor Takahiro SHINYO calls for establishing a missing link between peacekeeping and peacebuilding (02/11/2019)
Following the presentations by German Ambassador Lina Lepel on peacebuilding and French Ambassador Laurent PIC on peacekeeping operations, Professor SHINYO mentioned the need to establish the missing link between peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations and noted the importance of peacemaking during the cycle of conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
[Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019] Ambassador Laurent PIC says France is a strong supporter of the UN and the second-largest supplier of troops of the five permanent members of the Security Council. (02/11/2019)
Ambassador of France to Japan, H.E. Mr. Laurent PIC said that French contributions to UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) reflects France`s strong commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Department of Peace Operations headed by a senior French official, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, was carrying out vital peacekeeping activities. With threats to peace in the world proliferating and crises growing increasingly complex, France provided the UN with several hundred troops that were deployed on the ground in several peacekeeping operations.
[Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019] Former UN Under-Secretary-General Yasushi Akashi acknowledge with great respect the German and French contributions in the area of peacebuilding and peacekeeping (02/11/2019)
Click here for a summary of his comments made at the plenary session of the Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019 held at the JICA Global Plaza Conference Hall.
[Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019] Role of State and Non-State Stakeholders Discussed by Scholars and Experts (02/11/2019)
The session, organized by Professor Inomata and moderated by Professor Yamazaki, examined UN public policy and roles of state and non-state stakeholders in global governance for peace activities.
Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum Opens with More than 50 Scholars and Experts participating from Japan, China, India, France, Germany, Italy and other European Countries and the United States. (02/11/2019)
Mr. Masakuni TANIMOTO opened the Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019. He then asked the participants to join him in paying tribute to Madame Sadako OGATA who had passed away. He then showed two video messages received from Nobel Peace Prize Winner President Jose Ramos-Horta and Mr. Domenec DeVessa of Spain, member of the European Parliament.
[Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019] Thematic Session 3. S.M. Share, Zhang Guihong and Vesselin Popovski will speak on the need to review UN Charter and reconstitute the UN principal organs. (27/10/2019)
In the Thematic Session 3, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Takahiro SHINYO, Dr. Shahr-Yar Mahmoud Sharei, Executive Director of the Center for UN Constitutional Research (CUNCR) will discuss the San Francisco Promise and Article 109 for the UN Charter view, while Professor Zhang Guihong, Director of Center for UN Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai will call for replacement of the Trusteeship Council by the Human Rights Council and Professor Vesselin Popovski of Jindal University in India will propose upgrading of the Peacebuilding Commission.
[Japan Commission on Global Governance] USG Atul Khare calls for Japan to strengthen triangular partnership with the United Nations and African countries for their capacity building and extend medical support to UN peace operations declaring that the United Nations saves the lives of anyone suffering from armed conflicts. (16/10/2019)
Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019 will take place at JICA Ichigaya Global Plaza on November 2, 2019. (11/10/2019)
In his video message to the Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum, Former President and Nobel Prize Laureate José Ramos-Horta will review the global political and security situation. German Ambassador Ina LEPEL and French Ambassador Laurent PIC will present their perspectives on the prospect for peacebuilding and global governance in this turbulent world. After the keynote speeches, former UN Under-Secretary-General Yasushi AKASHI and former Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Takahiro SHINYO will provide their views. In the afternoon, the participants of the Forum from not only Japan but other countries will discuss several issues of relevance to peacebuilding and global governance. Please see here the full program.
Message from Nobel Prize Laureate and Former President José Ramos-Horta to Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum (02/11/2019)
The 1996 Nobel Prize Laureate and Former President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta expresses his concern that the United Nations is sidelined and unable to mobilize international good will and discharge its responsibilities in addressing humanitarian and security crises taking place in Africa, Asia and the Middles East. The solutions to these challenges, he suggests, can be found only when the major powers get together and build bridges among them and enhance their mutual understanding and consensus in order to address the global challenges the humanity is facing.
[Japan Commission on Global Governance] Three former diplomats engaged in disarmament, Nobuyasu Abe, Yoshiki Mine, Yasuyoshi Komizo and Mr. Takashi Genda, Retired Major General of Japan Air Self Defense Force pointed out that Japan urgently needs to play a leading role in preventing re-expansion of arms race (Reporter Yuki Watanabe) (18/09/2019)
In his opening remarks of the Global Governance Promotion Committee’s opinion exchange meeting held on September 18, 2019 at the Office Building of the Members of the House of Representatives, Mr. Masaharu Nakagawa, the Secretary-General of the World Federation of Japan’s Diet Committee and member of the House of Representatives, said he was looking for a proposal that could be pursued towards the realization of federalist ideals. He suggested the desire to further develop this Federation of Legislators as one of the mainstream options in Japan. For that purpose, he wished to harness the wisdom of top Japanese leaders and found the significance of holding consultation meetings. Climate change which is inducing the emergence of typhoons, crops damages with adverse impact on food security, changes in ocean currents, etc. must be assessed on a global scale, as well as disarmament and monetary policy that are today’s challenges He stressed the need to examine the respective issues from global perspectives. And disarmament which is the subject of today discussion, and monetary policy has to be considered for global implications. He expressed the view that the basics such as the current economic balance has collapsed. There are many urgent issues for humankind that the countries of the world must deal with in any way, but there is a sense of crisis regarding the politics running in the nationalistic direction in the countries of the world. The political parties that have advocated the middle of the road approach have lost in recent elections. In such a situation, he hoped that this Japan Commission of Global Governance would be successful so that information can be sent out from Japan with a view to the state of humankind in 20-30 years ahead. He said he would like to hear the opinions of the attendees reflecting not only their academic but also political perspectives.
Third Day Geneva Dialogue (04/09/2019)
East Asian Scholars and Practitioners exchanged their views with officials of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and Future of UN Development System.
Geneva Dialogue II – Second Day Photo Album (03/09/2019)
East Asian Scholars and Practitioners visited World Intellectual Organization (WIPO), Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and World Trade Organization (WTO) and held dialogue with their senior officials.
Foreign Minister Taro KONO joined the participants of a symposium on global solidarity levy and greeted reiterated his conviction that financial resources be generated by levying financial transactions for achievement of the SDGs (24/07/2019)
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.
Japan Commission for Global Governance holds its first meeting on UN Reform (23/07/2019)
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.
Ambassador to Timor-Leste Hiroshi MINAMI explains the local political situation at the 41st Meeting of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (20/07/2019)
Former Ambassadors Iwao KITAHARA and Yoshitaka HANADA joined in the lively discussions. (Reported by Taketo Yamaguchi)
Dr. Ai Kihara-Hunt, Associate Professor at the Graduate Program on Human Security, the University of Tokyo, presented a paper at the ACUNS Plenary Panel III, focusing on crime, conflict and development (22/06/2019)
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).
“Constructive Ambiguity” plays a Key Role in keeping stability in South Africa (22/06/2019)
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)
Six Japanese participate in the 2019 ACUNS Annual Meeting held at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. (22/06/2019)
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/