NHK, TBS, and TV Asahi reported that at a flag installation ceremony for the five newly elected non-permanent members of the UN Security Council held at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Ishikane said that Japan will make efforts to maintain the peace and security of the international community. The Japanese envoy….Read more

Asahi reported that Japan became a two-year non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on Jan. 1 and will also assume the monthly rotating presidency of the Security Council this month. The paper said attention will be focused on whether Japan can exercise leadership over the UN body that has been heavily criticized for being dysfunctional following Russia’s invasion of….Read more

On Dec. 12, Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu met separately with Elizabeth Salmón, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Lee Shin-wha, South Korean ambassador for international cooperation on DPRK’s human rights situation, at the Prime Minister’s Office [Kantei] to discuss the DPRK’s abductions of foreign nationals. Matsuno, who doubles as….Read more

At a press conference on Dec. 8, Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu commended the UN General Assembly for adopting a resolution on the elimination of nuclear weapons submitted by Japan. He said, “It’s of great significance that the resolution was adopted with the support of countries in various positions, including such nuclear nations as the U.S., the UK, and France.”

NHK and TV Asahi reported that in response to North Korea’s test-firing of a “Hwasong-17” intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 18, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday. The networks said the council failed Monday to take unified action because although most of its members supported the need to condemn the DPRK’s actions with a unified voice….Read more

Monday’s Mainichi, Yomiuri, and Nikkei wrote that Foreign Minister Hayashi said at a speech in Tokyo on Sunday that Japan, which will hold the presidency of the UN Security Council in January, is considering organizing at the UNSC an open debate on the rule of law. In view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s attempts to unilaterally change the….Read more

NHK said that the UN General Assembly committee on human rights adopted on Thursday a resolution urging North Korea to immediately return all the foreign nationals it has abducted. The resolution has now been passed for 18 consecutive years. The resolution submitted by the European Union and co-sponsored by more than 60 countries, including Japan and South Korea, said that….Read more

Asahi, Sankei, and Yomiuri reported that the UN General Assembly held an emergency meeting in New York on Monday and adopted a resolution calling for Russia to make reparations to Ukraine. The resolution reportedly recommended recording evidence and claims in order to establish an international mechanism for compensation for damage, loss, and injury. Sankei wrote that building an effective framework….Read more