4. Members’ Activities

The meeting of the presidents of the United Nations Associations of the three countries, Japan, China, and South Korea, was held for two days, from August 21 to 22, 2023. It was held at the Guest House of the China United Nations Association in Beijing for the first time in four years. The participants actively discussed “Reform and Improvement of the Global Governance System,” “UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” and “Diversity of Civilizations.” From left in the photo are KWAAK Young Hoon, president of the Korean United Nations Association, WANG Chao, president of the Chinese United Nations Association, and Yasushi AKASHI, vice president of the United Nations Association　of Japan. Please click here for the full report.

A group of diplomats, government officials and scholars met and discussed the contemporary global issues with Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, a scholar and diplomat, who served as the Chief of Staff to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari from 2020 to 2023, and the United Nations as the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Special Envoys.

Dr. Arbenita Sopaj asserts in her article published by the Institute for Security and Development Policy on 16 October 2023 that Putin is cognizant of the fact that if he attempts to end the war in Ukraine, he will face a trial. Therefore, he pursues ultimate victory, even if it entails negative consequences for him and his people in the long run, and that includes the potential use of nuclear weapons. If the trilateral partnership materializes among the three nations, i.e., Russia, North Korea, and China, the global order becomes even more volatile as all three possess nuclear arsenals and adhere to communist ideologies, factors that should prompt Western allies to take proactive measures. Please see her full analysis by clicking the Link: In For the Long Haul: Kim’s Meeting with Putin Amid Ukraine War – Institute for Security and Development Policy (isdp.eu)

China advocates (1) More developing countries should be represented in the council; (2) more countries, especially small- and medium-sized states, should have greater opportunities to serve on a rotating basis and participate in decision-making; (3) Security Council reform should adhere to the principle of geographic balance, ensuring representation of “different cultures and civilizations”; (4) all regional groupings should agree on reform proposals that concern their respective regions; and (5) any consensus on reform should reflect full democratic deliberations, as is consistent with the UN Charter. China is against adding any permanent members to the Security Council. Please click here for full text.

Please click here for the audio recordings of their remarks.

On May 17, 2023, ETO Seishiro, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s United Nations Reform Examination Committee, requested Prime Minister KISHIDA, Chairman of the G7 summit of developed countries, to recommend UN reform. Members of the committee accompanied him. Prime Minister KISHIDA said he would work with President Biden to strengthen the functions of the United Nations, especially the reform of the Security Council and the expansion of its members. Please click here for the full text of the recommendations.


From left to right: ISHIBA Shigeru, SHIMOMURA Hakubun, YAMATANI Eriko, NAKASONE Hirofumi, ENDO Toshiaki, ETO Seishiro(Chair), KISHIDA Fumio(Prime Minister)、INOGUCHI Noriko(Secretary-General), FUNADA Hajime, YAMAGUCHI Tsuyoshi、KAMIKAWA Yoko,　HORII Iwao, NAKATANI Gen.

Chair of the Global Governance Forum based in Geneva and Madrid visited the National Diet of Japan on 16 May 2023 and met with Mr. ETO Seishiro and other members of the Parliamentary Committee of the National Diet of Japan for World Federalism. Please click here for a summary report of the discussion.

Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa, Executive Director for the Academic Exchange of the United Nations Association of Japan, Distinguished Professor of the Kyoto University of the Arts, and Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Timor-Leste) made a presentation of his views to senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on March 28, 2023. Please click here for more information.

Mr. AKASHI Yasushi, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, hosted a lunch meeting with Professor Tshilidzi MARWALA, new Rector of the UN University, on March 24, 2023, in Tokyo. Also participating in the meeting was Professor HASEGAWA Sukehiro. They discussed how the UN University was established in 1972 and evolved over the last 50 years. Rector MARWALA informed his intention to raise the profile of the UN University in Japan as well as the world, particularly in Africa.

Mr. Motoo NOGUCHI, a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ), a Former Japanese Ambassador for International Judicial Cooperation, and a member of the Panel of Experts for the Election of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), spoke about the implications of the arrest warrant for Russian President Putin issued by ICC at the BS Fuji Prime News on 20 March 2023. The main points are shown here.