Japan, 1969

5. Madam President, on behalf of the Japanese delegation,

I should like to extend my heartiest congratulations to you

on your assumption of the Presidency of the twenty-fourth

session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

I am confident that, with your knowledge and wealth of

experience in the problems of the United Nations, which are

both so well known to us, you will lead this session to

fruitful accomplishments.

6. I wish to take this opportunity of expressing my

profound appreciation to the former President of the

General Assembly, His Excellency the late Mr. Emilio

Arenales. It is still fresh in our memory that he successfully

brought to a close the very difficult period of the

twenty-third session of the General Assembly. My delegation

shares the deep sorrow over his unexpected passing

with all the peoples of the world, recognizing that we have

lost a great leader in the cause of world peace.

7. On this occasion, I wish to pay high tribute to His

Excellency Secretary-General U Thant, and express my

appreciation of his devotion to the maintenance of world

peace. I very much hope that he will continue his efforts

towards the establishment of peace and progress of man-

kind.

8. At the outset of my statement, I should like to refer to

what I may call our struggle for peace. The Preamble of the

Charter of the United Nations, whenever we read it over

again, cannot but renew our deep emotions, I am sure that

the objective expressed in such words as:

“We, the peoples of the United Nations, determined to -

save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which

twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind...”

must have been held in the heart of each of our contemporaries

throughout the world, at least once, as his he own personal

conviction. This is an objective that is fully endorsed by the

Japanese people who have expressed, in the constitution

promulgated shortly after the close of the Second World War,

their strong determination to live as a peace-loving nation.

I think that the United Nations, as the pre-eminent world

Organization which aims to achieve an objective such as I

have mentioned, is the most appropriate forum in which to

speak of peace.

9. The struggle for peace should not be thought of as comprising

only our efforts to maintain or restore peace and security in the

contemporary world. The struggle for peace must also comprise

creative efforts to explore the way, and open the road, to

everlasting peace.

10. In-the present world situation the supreme obligation

of all States to their own peoples would appear to be the

protection of their respective national interests. When the

forces of nationalism have reached their peak as they have

today, and indeed because they have reached such a point,

I am convinced that harmony must be achieved among the

States that aspire to nationalism through the further

strengthening of true internationalism. As long as nations

consider their national objective to be the maintenance and

enhancement of the ~peace ‘and welfare of their peoples,

they should be convinced that the securing and strengthening

of international peace should be an essential pre-requisite

in the attainment of such an objective. Accordingly, our

present and future efforts should be directed towards

achieving a stake in which all the nations of the world will

co-operate with the United Nations and move forward together,

step by step, towards everlasting peace.

11. I do not think that there is any alternative. Specifically,

the struggle for peace consists in efforts answering the

expectations of all peoples of the world for the future

peace-keeping ability of this international Organization, by

enhancing the effectiveness of the functions of the United

Nations in the maintenance of peace. The struggle for peace

means to strive towards general and complete disarmament,

through concrete disarmament measures; and the struggle

for peace is to eliminate frustration, which is the fundamental

cause of social insecurity, by raising the living standards

of the peoples of the world. Furthermore, it is extremely

important to remove the distrust existing among nations and

races, or between different political systems based on different

ideologies, by bringing about an easing of world tensions,

and promoting mutual friendship and understanding among nations.

12. In discussing these matters, I should like, first, to take

up the question of the peace-keeping activities of the

United Nations. There is no need for me to dwell on the

fact that the maintenance of international peace and security

is the primary objective of this Organization. For a

quarter of a century since the Second World War, we have

fortunately been spared the catastrophe of world-wide war

owing mainly to the mutual restraint exercised by the major

Powers. On the other hand, there has been a frequent

recurrence of local conflicts and, to our great regret, all too

many regions in the world today are still confronted with

serious problems. As is demonstrated by the past peace-keeping

operations of the United Nations, this Organization can be

effective, although perhaps not in a spectacular fashion, in

preventing the spread of hostilities and blood-shed and

in arranging peaceful settlements.

13. It is our belief that in order to maintain world peace,

these peace-keeping functions of the United Nations should

be further strengthened. However, the extent to which they

can be developed depends entirely on the amount of effort

that can be made by each Member State. In fact, the success

of past peace-keeping operations has been due to initiatives

taken by and with the co-operation of Member States. In this

connexion, I should like to emphasize the immense responsibility

of the super-Powers for ensuring world peace and security. They

are expected, positively, to assume a major role in the

maintenance of peace in general, not to mention their obligation

to refrain from the use of military force as a means of solving

international disputes. As a peace-loving nation, Japan is

prepared to co-operate fully with the United Nations and to

participate actively in its peace-keeping role.

i4. I should like, at this juncture, to touch very briefly

upon some of the problems affecting our Asian continent.

The continuation of talks for peace in Viet-Nam, which are

currently going on in Paris, gives us ground to entertain

high hopes for the restoration of peace in that area. There

still remains, to be sure, a wide difference of views between

both sides; nevertheless, we earnestly cherish the hope that

these various difficulties may be overcome through a

genuine desire for peace on both sides, so that peace in

Viet-Nam may be attained at the earliest date. Japan is

willing to co-operate in whatever way it can to turn this

hope into reality. It is to be hoped that, once peace is

established, the United Nations for its part will direct

positive efforts to the maintenance of the peace in close

co-operation with the parties concerned.

15. For Japan the maintenance of peace in the Far East is

a matter of special interest and gravity. In this context, we

cannot conceal in particular our serious concern over the

situation of sustained tension now continuing in the Korean

Peninsula, which lies in close proximity to our own country.

On the other hand, it is most gratifying that the Republic of

Korea has been showing steady progress towards stability and

development. Japan expresses its deep appreciation of the

efforts made in the past by the United Nations for the

maintenance of peace in this peninsula and earnestly hopes

that there will never be a recurrence of a large-scale armed

attack there. Japan is determined to continue to co-operate in

United Nations activities as best it can for ensuring the

peace in the area.

16. I turn now to the question of China which constitutes

a problem of the utmost importance affecting peace in the

Far East and indeed in the entire world. In that sense the

position of my Government concerning the question of

Chinese representation in the United Nations is that it is an

"important question", all the more so since many other

questions in the United Nations are so designated. Japan,

for its part, sincerely looks forward to the advent of the

day when the People’s Republic of China will willingly

adopt an attitude of international co-operation and play a

constructive role for world peace.

17. Active consultations and discussions are now in

progress inside and outside the United Nations with respect

to the Middle East questions; but in spite of these

consultations, to our deep regret, armed conflicts persist

the troubled area. Japan sincerely hopes that solution of

this very difficult question will be brought about through

the further efforts of all the interested parties and

particularly of the major Powers in line with the Security

Council resolution of 22 November 1967 [242 (1967)].

18. The position of my Government, which is opposed to

racial discrimination, remains unchanged on questions

concerning southern Africa. My Government hopes that the

United Nations will continue to make constructive efforts

for the solution of these problems. It is to be expected that

innumerable obstacles will have to be surmounted before a

solution of such difficulties can be found. As in the past,

Japan is ready to do its part in the search for solutions of

all such problems.

19, Disarmament is an important means in the struggle for

peace. This is one of the essential measures required to

break the vicious circle of the expansion of armaments and

the acceleration of tensions. Accordingly, if, while strengthening

security systems under the United Nations, we succeed in

obtaining a gradual scaling down of the armaments of countries,

subject to effective verification and without affecting the

balance between nations, we shall, in practical terms, be able

to alleviate world tensions and lessen the danger of war.

20. We, the Japanese people, have the earnest wish that

nuclear weapons should be eliminated and that an international

society free from war should be realised. Japan became a member

of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva this year. Through

our participation in the work of the Committee, we hope to

contribute, more than it past, to the maintenance of peace by

the promotion of disarmament.

21. Japan supports the view that priority be given to

nuclear disarmament. We consider that, as techniques for

the detection of underground nuclear weapon tests make

progress, concrete measures of international co-operation

should be advanced towards the complete prohibition of

nuclear weapon tests. Also the halting of production of

fissionable nuclear materials for weapon purposes and the

transfer of such materials to peaceful uses should be

achieved. Closely related to those objectives is the problem

of freezing and reducing the stockpiles of means of

delivering nuclear weapons. We welcome the fact that talks

between the United States and the Soviet Union are to

begin on the control of strategic missiles.

22. Japan, as a maritime country surrounded by sea, has

vital interests in the prevention of an arms race on the

sea-bed and the ocean floor. Since the Japanese people, as I

have mentioned, earnestly hope for the complete elimination

of nuclear weapons, we consider it very important to prohibit,

in the first instance, nuclear or other mass-destruction

weapons on the sea-bed and the ocean floor, which is the last

frontier of mankind on earth.

23. Chemical and biological weapons, like nuclear weapons, are

capable of being used for mass destruction and it is imperative

that we should reaffirm the prohibition of their use, prohibit

the development and manufacture of such weapons and scrap the

stockpiles of them.

24. The ideal of permanent peace can be brought about

only when general and complete disarmament has been achieved.

Regrettably, of course, the reality is that we cannot achieve

this goal at once. Therefore the only way left is to adopt

successively, step by step, partial disarmament measures, as

such measures become feasible. At the same time, it is essential

that we maintain the principle that these successive disarmament

measures should be carried out in such a way that the balance of

armaments will be maintained so as to ensure the security of all

countries.

25, I turn now to a third very important factor in the

struggle for peace. A victory will not be won in this struggle

unless progress in the welfare of all mankind is achieved. In

other words, the promotion of economic and social development

is the prerequisite for political stability and the foundation

for the active construction of peace. Energetic preparations are

now being made by all the United Nations family of organizations

concerned with the Second United Nations Development Decade in

the 1970s. It is to be hoped that this Second Development Decade

will contribute significantly to the economic and social

development of the developing countries.

26. As the First Development Decade is nearing its end, it

is noteworthy that significant economic development has been

achieved in many developing countries in this decade and that

competent organizations in the field of economic and social

development have been consolidated within the United Nations

family. I believe that in the next decade it is our obligation

to secure the efficient and effective operation of these

organizations and, at the same time, to maintain and promote

genuine co-operation between the developing and the developed

countries.

27. We, for our part, are determined to make every possible

contribution to the successful achievement of the Second

Development Decade. The most significant evidence of our efforts

for economic co-operation is the flow of financial resources

from Japan to the developing countries in recent years. The volume

of the flow of financial resources from Japan to the developing

countries for the last five years, for example, has increased by

three times, having surpassed 1,000 million dollars in 1968.

Trade resolutions between Japan and the developing countries have

also been strengthened, and the amount of our imports from those

countries have almost doubled over the last five years, reaching

5,300 million dollars in 1963. The rates of increase of both financial

flow from and imports to Japan are among the highest of the developed

countries.

28. Japan, as an Asian nation, has made particular efforts to

strengthen its aid to and expand imports from Asian countries. Asia

has the largest population in the world and the Asian countries need

a great amount of aid for their development.

29. As I stated in the Fourth Ministerial Conference for the Economic

Development of South-East Asia held at Bangkok from 3 to 5 April 1969,

the coming decade will present great opportunities to countries both

within and outside the South-East Asian region, and Japan intends

actively to pursue economic co-operation with other Asian countries,

commensurate with the growth of its own national economy and, at the

same time, to extend every possible support to the organizations of

Asian regional co-operation, such as the Economic Commission for Asia

and the Far East and the Asian Development Bank. My Government is

further considering what active role we can play in co-operation with

other countries, once peace is secured in Viet-Nam, in the

reconstruction and development of Viet-Nam and its war-afflicted

neighbouring countries.

30. I earnestly hope that the development strategy for the

1970s will contribute to victory over poverty and hunger in

the developing countries and that the coming decade will

truly be worthy of being called the decade of peace and

development throughout the world.

31. I have now discussed various aspects of the struggle for

peace. The United Nations, which should be the pivotal

organ of that endeavour, will celebrate its twenty-fifth

anniversary next year, and I should like to take this

opportunity of expressing a few comments about what this

Organization should be. On the occasion of this anniversary,

it may be highly useful to reflect upon the areas in

which the United Nations has failed, during these twenty-five

years, to achieve what was originally expected of it, to

define the future direction which it should follow and, at

the same time, to review the Charter of the United Nations

for the purpose of ensuring a more effective functioning of

the Organization. The purposes and principles of the United

Nations as set out in the Charter remain quite appropriate

as norms of action for Member States, despite the passage

of these twenty-five years. Nevertheless, the world situation

has evolved in a way that is different in many respects from

what the Charter anticipated at its inception. Therefore, we

must take full account of this reality when we search for

the best way of realizing the ideals represented by the

establishment of the United Nations. In the Charter, there

are some provisions which call for review in the light of its

history of the last twenty odd years, such as Articles

concerning an “enemy State”, or those concerning the —

Trusteeship Council which has almost accomplished its

mission. On the other hand, certain practices and precedents

have been established to meet the needs of reality.

Moreover, significant resolutions have been adopted and

important subsidiary organs have been established in the

spirit of the Charter.

32. On behalf of the Japanese Government, I should like

to take this opportunity of presenting a few suggestions

based on the review of the activities of the United Nations

over the past decade.

33. I should like, first, to refer to questions related to the

Security Council and the General Assembly. I consider that

the basic structure of the Security Council, in which the

super-Powers occupy the central positions and assume

major responsibilities for the maintenance of peace, is

realistic. Nevertheless, we are far from satisfied with the

performance of the Security Council in the past and we all

know that there are many problems still to be solved in this

regard.

34, Given the realities of the international situations since

the establishment of the United Nations, various questions

should be examined in order to make the functioning of the

General Assembly and the Security Council more effective.

Among these might be enumerated such questions as

whether the composition of the Security Council and its

method of voting should remain the same as originally

established, or whether the powers of the Genera! Assembly

should be enlarged and should be expressly provided for in

the Charter.

35. I believe that, for the Security Council to be the most

effective possible, it is desirable, in view of its importance,

that it should be an organ composed of Member States

which, as clearly provided in the Charter, are in a position

to render the most effective contributions to the maintenance

of international peace and security and also are truly

representative of various regions of the world.

36. A comprehensive re-examination of the activities be

the United Nations is necessary, not-only in the political

and peace-keeping field but also in the field of economic

and social development. The funds allocated to the activities

of the United Nations family of organizations in the

latter sphere have been rapidly increasing’ in recent years.

Japan is making a great effort to contribute substantially to

these funds. We believe, at the same time, that a better

co-ordination of the work of the United Nations and its

related agencies is urgently required, including a serious

study of the activities of the individual organizations in

order to avoid any duplication of work, keeping in mind

the need for rational use of financial resources. Such

co-ordination is essential so that the United Nations and its

related agencies are to cope effectively with the questions

involved in promoting welfare in the economic and social

fields.

37. I believe that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

United Nations next year would be a good occasion to

re-examine the activities of this Organization, taking into

account the possibility of amending the Charter, and of

making further efforts towards the realization of everlasting

peace. I therefore hope that the United Nations will

reactivate its procedures for considering such matters at

the twenty-fifth session of the General Assembly, although,

judging from past experience, I am fully aware of the

complexities involved. Would it not be possible, however,

to set a future date when formal proposals for a revision of

the Charter might be considered, making full use of the

time available before that date for the necessary preparatory

work? Japan, for its part, would be prepared to give

full consideration to submitting its own proposals at an

appropriate time.

38. In the pursuit of our common ideals we have all

subscribed to the spirit embodied in the Charter of the

United Nations. Although we are confronted by the

realities of international politics, we should not lose sight of

our ideals for a moment. Cognizant of the severe realities

which hinder the attainment of our ideals, we should not be

rigid in our efforts to cope with these realities. Our attitude

should always be one of exploring every possibility for

advancement. It is only in these ways that it will be possible

for us to clear away the obstacles from the road to

everlasting peace.