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.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announces UN Strategy and Action Plan against Hate Speech (18/07/2019)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the launch of the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, in New York today.
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)
Summer Visit to Germany (12/07/2019)
From left to right, granddaughter Sofie, son in law Ralf, grandson Cedric, daughter Corinne, Anita and Sukehiro.
2019 Global Peace Ranking – Iceland is No.1, while Japan 9th and United States, 128th (11/07/2019)
According to the 2019 Global Peace Index provided by the Institute of Economics and Peace, Iceland is No.1, while Japan 9th and United States, 128th. IEP is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in New York, The Hague, Mexico City, Brussels and Harare. It provides a snapshot of the global state of peacefulness among 164 countries. For more information visit www.economicsandpeace.org
Professor Yozo Yokota passed away on the 12th (29/06/2019)
Statement of condolence read by Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa, Executive Director for Academic Exchange of the United Nations Association of Japan on June 29 at the meeting of the Japan Association of UN Scholars (JAUNS). Dr. Yokota came to Timor-Leste as a member of the United Nations Timor-Leste Serious Crimes Investigation Commission and advised me on how to treat mass killings and other serious crimes from the perspective of human rights. Also, he came to Hosei University almost every year and gave a lecture on human rights. The funeral was held in the chapel of the International Christian University in Mitaka from 18:00 on Sunday 16th.
Secretary-General Antonio António Guterres will participate in G20 Osaka Summit (25/06/2019)
According to UN Information Centre, the Secretary-General will depart New York on June 26 and visit Osaka, Japan, where he will attend the G20 Summit. He will speak at a session on climate change, environment and energy, and will participate in sessions on topics including the global economy, innovation and inequalities. He will also take part in a leaders’ side event on women’s empowerment.
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/
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, received Global Peacebuilding Association President Sukehiro Hasegawa and Secretary-General Masakuni Tanimoto. (07/06/2019)
At the invitation of the Friends of the United Nations – Asia and the Pacific (FOUNAP), former Special Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan for Timor-Leste, Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa, participated on 6 June in an interactive forum highlighting Japanese initiatives which promoted the Sustainable Development Goals. He then took the opportunity to make a courtesy call on United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu on 7 June 2019. (Reported by Masakuni Tanimoto)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare meets President of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan Sukehiro Hasegawa. (07/06/2019)
Mr. Atul Khare is the Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support…
GPAJ President Sukehiro Hasegawa exchanges views and understandings about the role of UN staff and their career development in the United Nations at a gathering organized by the Japanese UN Staff Association in NY. (07/06/2019)
In his presentation to Japanese staff at UN Headquarters, Mr. Hasegaw…
SDG Interactive Forum Meeting at UN Headquarters: Japan urged to reduce its gender gap and achieve SDG 5. (06/06/2019)
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.
Member of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet and Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Committee for World Federalist Movement, Mr. Masaharu Nakagawa, discussed with the Chairman of the Japan Commission on Global Governance, the future schedule of the committee. (31/05/2019)
With the establishment of the Japan Commission on Global Governance, it was decided to hold meetings to hold discussions by experts on respective fields. They agreed to exchange views with members of the Parliamentary Committee members. The areas covered six areas including UN reform, rule of law, international solidarity tax, environment, disarmament, and SDGs. Group-wide recommendations would be submitted to the Parliamentary Committee in March 2020. (Masakuni Tanimoto, Executive Director)
World Federalist Movement Co-Chair Fernando IGLESIAS meets Mr. Seishiro ETO and Mr. Masaharu NAKAGAWA, Chairman and Secretary-General of the Japan Parliamentary Committee for World Federalism. (28/05/2019)
Argentine legislator Fernando Iglesias, co-chair of the World Federation Movement International Office (WFM), proposed the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly as a concrete action to make the United Nations a more democratic organization. President Seishiro Eto, indicated that to achieve world peace the Diet of Japan created the Parliamentary Committee for World Federation on as early as December 20, 1949. Chairman of the House of Representatives Komakichi Matsuoka was appointed as Chairman and Member of the House of Councilors Kotaro Tanaka as Vice-Chairman by a group of 104 bipartisan members of the Diet. He explained that about 100 members of bipartisan members have joined the Parliamentary Committee which aims at realizing the World Federation by building democratic governance.
Nobel Prize Laureate and Former President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta appointed Special Advisor to the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ) (27/05/2019)
José Manuel Ramos-Horta is an East Timorese politician who was the President of Timor-Leste from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working “towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor”.
Experts from Japan, China, Republic of Korea and Mongolia Discuss Ways and Means to Strengthen Coherence, Sequencing and Prioritization of the Mandates of UN Peace Operations (23/05/2019)
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.