New Okinawa plan includes provisions for stationing servicemen for UNEPS

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Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama delivering his speech

On August 11, the Democratic Party of Japan held a public symposium on its new Okinawa Vision 2008 which outlines the whole of its basic Okinawa (U.S. base) policy designed to take effect after taking power of the government, according a local news source and the official party press release. The "Vision" has been released since July 1997 on a tri-annual basis and it represents a most formalized statement of DPJ's policy which requires the approval by the Next Cabinet or the shadow cabinet.

The Vision was approved on July 8 at the party's Next Cabinet meeting, and it lay out that a part of Okinawa's private airport (the Shimojishima Airport in Miyakojima) could be utilized as a stationing base for UNEPS in the future. Specifically, the provision outlined the utilization of the airport as follows (unofficial translation from the local newspaper article of Ryukyu Shinpo):

"The new Vision included provisions on constructing an outpost for the UNEPS (UN Emergency Peace Service) using the Shimojishima Airport in accordance with the Shimojishima Airport Utilization Plan of the Miyakojima City." (Ryuku Shinpo, 12 August 2008)

More specifically, the provision outlined the role of the airport as follows (unofficial translation):

VIII. Attraction of international organizations

Considering Okinawa’s geographical and historical characteristic that played the unique role of “Island of Peace” in various international negotiations including the 2000 Kyushu-Okinawa G8 Summit, attracting international organizations and UN offices to Okinawa (for example as a UN Pacific Rim Headquarters) is both meaningful and desirable for stability and development of East Asia as well as for sending the message of peace.

In practice, the Shimojishima Airport of Miyakojima City could be utilized to create outposts for UNEPS (a UN Emergency Peace Service) or a UN Human Security Centre for human resource development, as well as for enhancing the coordination with the ASEAN Rescue Team and the Japan Disaster Relief Teams that were recently dispatched to various disasters including the cyclone disaster in Burma and the Schezuan earthquake disaster in China. For this purpose we believe an active deployment of Miyakojima’s “2007 Shimojishima Airport Utilization Plan” is pertinent.

This was a first leap forward from theDPJ's initial policy on UNEPS that merely recommended the government to facilitate the establishment of UNEPS. Now the party is thinking about preparing to establish the UNEPS by itself once power transfer takes place.

Since the Vision is to be reflected in the party's Manifesto which will be finalized before the next general election, it is likely that the establishment of UNEPS would become an official party policy for the years to come.

Government to discuss possible introduction of international solidarity levy

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According to several news sources, the Japanese government has begun "discussions on the possible introduction" of international solidarity levies. The Tokyo Shinbun article dated July 28 read as follows:

The government on Sunday launched discussions on the possible introduction of an international solidarity levy for currency trading activities and airline ticket purchases to help fund development assistant programs for developing countries. In the coming months Japan is expected to officially join the international group of countries that are promoting the initiative.

According to the article, the government is considering "a currency transaction development tax of as low as 0.005 percent on foreign currency trading activities" and the implementation of "an airline ticket levy with which it can collect taxes from relatively wealthy people."

The currency transaction development tax, known globally as CTDL or Currency Transaction Development Levy, has been the policy target of our Office since the launch of the Parliamentary Group on International Solidarity Levy in February this year. We believe the "international group of countries" that promotes the international solidarity tax initiative refers to the Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to Fund Development, which our Parliamentary Group formally requested the government to join in June.

The Office of Senator Tadashi Inuzuka welcomes the government's decision to launch its official consideration of a possible introduction of an international solidarity levy. We believe the fact that their policy options include CTDL and airline ticket levy is a testament to the works of the Parliamentary Group in the Japanese National Diet and we will continue to put our utmost effort in materializing the introduction.

Below is a Kyodo News article which is deemed as the primary source of the news.

Monday, July 28, 2008

'Solidarity levy' eyed to pay for foreign aid

Kyodo News

The government on Sunday launched discussions on the possible introduction of tax systems for currency trading activities and airline ticket purchases to help fund development assistant programs for poor countries, Foreign Ministry sources said.

The government is considering the "international solidarity levy" mechanism to secure funds to help the world achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals aimed at stamping out poverty and tackling health problems in developing nations, the sources said.

Various studies have shown that the conventional official development aid system has failed to provide sufficient funds to achieve the goals. Some countries have advocated innovative financing mechanisms, including international solidarity levies.

The government plans to officially join the Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to Fund Development, a French-initiated international organization set up in 2006. Japan has been an observer country so far.
The government is mulling a currency transaction development tax of as low as 0.005 percent on foreign currency trading activities, according to the sources.

It also aims to implement an airline ticket levy with which it can collect taxes from relatively wealthy people, they said.

Tetsuji Tanaka, head of the Tokyo-based citizens' group altermonde, which promotes the financing mechanism, hailed the government's move.

"The world needs to create a framework in which money flows from people reaping the benefits of globalization to those suffering the negative impacts of the phenomenon," he said. "Japan's planned participation in the Leading Group will mark a huge step toward realizing such a system."

According to the Foreign Ministry, as of last year 28 countries had announced their intention to introduce the airline ticket levy, of which eight countries, including France and South Korea, have done so. The proceeds have been donated to the Leading Group and used for such purposes as tackling infectious diseases in developing countries.

No country has yet put into practice the currency transaction development levy.

Daily transactions in global currency exchange markets totaled $3 trillion in 2007. If a 0.005 percent levy were imposed on the transactions, about $33 billion, or one-third of the current level of global ODA, could be gathered.
Some financial industry experts point out that the levy system would also help stem transactions of speculative funds.

Calls for international solidarity levies have been growing in Japan. Some lawmakers established a bipartisan group to promote the system earlier this year.

In June, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda indicated his intention of examining the possibility of introducing the system to secure financial resources to combat global warming.

Parliamentary group on solidarity levy submits a formal request to the Foreign Minister

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A Japanese parliamentary group submits a Letter of Request urging the government to take lead in solving "Problems without passports"

by Takahiro Katsumi, PGISL Secretariat

(Tokyo, 3 June 2008) In the early Tuesday morning, a delegation from the non-partisan group of parliamentarians including Senator Tadashi Inuzuka (DPJ) that seek for the establishment of international solidarity levy, paid a formal visit to Minister of Foreign Affairs MasahikoKOHMURA to submit a formal Letter of Request to the government to join the Leading Group on Solidarity Levies for Development. (*1)

The delegation of the the Parliamentary Group on International Solidarity Levies (PGISL) emphasized in the request that the Leading Group is serving as "breeding grounds for innovative and effective ideas" and that Japan as the host of the upcoming G8 Toyako Summit should consider global issues such as climate change, poverty, and epidemics as "problems without passports" and that Japan should lead the world in providing "solution without borders". The request thus concluded by urging the government to join the Leading Group which is acting as an effective forum to develop new ideas addressing these "problems without passports".


Background

PGISL is a non-partisan, all-party parliamentary group consisted of approximately 40 original members from both houses of the parliament (the National Diet). It was established in Feburary 28 of this year, which holds the following as its objectives to be achieved before the opening of the Toyako Summit:

1. Organize and provide venues for study group sessions to study relevant systems and to facilitate substantial discussions in the Diet.
   
2. Push the Japanese government towards participation in the “Leading Group on Solidarity Levies for Development” (LGS).
3. Push the Japanese government to take the role of a lead nation for the “CTDL taskforce” (*2) which was proposed by the LGS.
   
   

Accordingly, PGISL until today has hosted more than five study sessions since its establishment, in a period of three month. For the study session the Group invited experts from in and out of Japan, such as Dr. Sony Kapoor from his newly established think tank "DEFINE", Professor Takehiko UEMURA from the Chiba University, and Mr. Kenzo OSHIMA, former UN Ambassador and now Deputy Director of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). PGISL has also sent its staff to the Leading Group Plenary Meeting held in Dakar on April to monitor and better understand the dynamics and reality of the Group. In particular, the PGISL has recognized the growing international acceptance towards CTDL(*3) and its effectiveness, hence promoting Japan's participation in the Leading Group to lead the Taskforce on CTDL.

The formal request to join the Leading Group signifies the very first step in rearing Japan to lead the CTDL Taskforce, which is our Group's primary objective.

Glossary of terms


For more details: (Note: all except the February press release is in Japanese)
Text：Letter of Request (3 June 2008)
Reference：History of the Leading Group (2 June 2008)
Reference：PGISL Press release on the establishment of the Group, en (29 February 2008)

Global-minded parliamentarians adopt a declaration on Darfur

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The Japanese chapter of Parliamentarians for Global Action holds an ICC Workshop on Darfur and Tibet in the Japanese Parliament

On 14 May 2008, under the leadership of its Secretary-General, Senator Tadashi Inuzuka, the Japanese chapter of the Parliamentarians for Global Action* held a workshop on International Criminal Court (ICC) concerning the issues of Darfur and Tibet in the National Diet, or Japanese parliament.

Entitled “Strategy Meeting on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Responsibility to Protect the Civilian Population in Darfur and Tibet”, the workshop invited two (2) experts from the Japanese Foreign Ministry, seven (7) delegations from EC and European Union countries, and one (1) expert from PGA International Secretariat as well as Japanese parliamentarians to discuss extensively on the issue of Sudan’s non-compliance to the UN Security Council Resolution 1593 and on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Tibet. Two (2) representatives from the civil society were also invited as guests, including Mr. U Aung Htoo, General Secretary of the Burma Lawyers’ Council and Ms. Kazuko Ito, Secretary General of Human Rights Now in Japan. The workshop was divided into three sessions, with experts briefing on the Darfur and Tibet issue followed with a discussion on the Sudan’s non-compliance issue, followed by another expert’s presentation.

In the discussion on Sudan, Dr. David Donat Cattin, Director of International Law & Human Rights Programme at PGA, gave an overview on the jurisdiction of the ICC, its relationship with the UN Security Council, the referral of the Darfur situation from the Council to the ICC, and the consequent obstacles to the investigations and prosecutions of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur by high level Government officials and militia leaders of Sudanese nationality. In his presentation, Dr. Cattin described in detail the opposition for effective ICC intervention in Darfur posed by China and other Members of the Security Council, which did not allow the latter to take decisive action in addressing the non-compliance of Sudan with Court’s orders and decision. He concluded that “there is urgent need for targeted measures, including individual sanctions, aimed at giving teeth to the requests of cooperation of the ICC to Sudan, starting with the arrest and surrender of the two persons charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.”

In the final session, with consultation with Dr. Cattin and other experts the Japanese parliamentarians decided to adopt a resolution on Darfur urging the Japanese government to support and undertake all necessary measures that the Security Council may adopt, including “targeted sanctions against those individuals bearing responsibility for the continued non-compliance of the Government of Sudan with the obligation of arrest and surrender indicted war criminals to the Court.” However, because only senior members of the group was present in the meeting, the parliamentarians also decided that further consultation should be made on Tibet among all of the group members before a statement can be adopted on the issue.

Download: Resolution on Justice for Darfur

Background

*Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a network of 1,300 individual legislators from 117 elected Parliaments drawn from all regions of the world. The PGA ICC Campaign receives support from the European Commission, European Union, and the governments of Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland. PGA receives core support from Denmark and Sweden.

In early May 2008, the Executive Committee of PGA decided to join the “Justice for Darfur Campaign” and the Tokyo event was the first of such initiative focused on the subject so that Japan can play an essential role, along with the European Union and the USA, to fight impunity for past and ongoing atrocities in Darfur and therefore contribute to prevent the repetition of such atrocities. The PGA Japan National Committee has been a fundamental actor in the process that led to Japan’s accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC in 2006-07. PGA Japan takes on as its responsibility to promote the universality and effectiveness of the ICC system in Asia, starting with actions to be undertaken in Japan’s ODA partner countries such as Indonesia and Nepal, where PGA Members are actively engaged in securing their countries' accession to the Rome Statute.

In early May 2008, the Executive Committee of PGA decided to join the “Justice for Darfur Campaign” and the Tokyo event was the first of such initiative focused on the subject so that Japan can play an essential role, along with the European Union and the USA, to fight impunity for past and ongoing atrocities in Darfur and therefore contribute to prevent the repetition of such atrocities. The PGA Japan national group, formally called “The PGA Japan National Committee“ has been a fundamental actor in the process that led to Japan’s accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC in 2006-07. PGA Japan takes on as its responsibility to promote the universality and effectiveness of the ICC system in Asia, starting with actions to be undertaken in Japan’s ODA partner countries such as Indonesia and Nepal, where PGA Members are actively engaged in securing their countries' accession to the Rome Statute.

Japanese legislatures launch a parliamentary group for establishing internatinoal solidarity levy

*Click the title above to read the Japanese verison of this release.

February 29, 2008

Office of Senator Tadashi Inuzuka
House of Councillors, National Diet of Japan
Secretariat, the Parliamentary Group on International Solidarity Levy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Japanese legislatures launch an all-party parliamentary group calling for the establishment of an international solidarity levy

(Tokyo, 28 February 2008) A nonpartisan, all-party parliamentary group calling for the establishment of an international solidarity levy was established in Japan. The Group, calling itself “The Parliamentary Group on International Solidarity Levy”, has launched an inaugural meeting on Thursday where influential legislatures from both the ruling and opposition parties attended. The distinguished attendants included Mme. Yoriko Kawaguchi, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yasuhiro Shioazaki, the former Chief Cabinet Secretary, and Mrs. Wakako Hironaka, the former Minister of Environment. Along with these individuals, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, the former Permanent Representative to the United Nations and now the Deputy Director of the Japan Cooperation Agency, was added to the list of distinguished participants who prepared an inaugural lecture for the Group.

The Group aims to establish a system for international solidarity levy known as CTDL, or Currency Transaction Development Levy that allows procurement of funds for development assistance purposes by way of placing a levy on currency transactions. Specifically, the Group aims to do the following, as stipulated in the finalized prospectus.

February 28, 2008

Prospectus of the Group

Background
2008 is the year of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit as well as the mid point for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015. In spite of increasingly severe transnational issues such as climate change, poverty and pandemics, there is no prospect that the ODA goal for 2015 will be met. In order to resolve this situation, the airline ticket solidarity levy initiative led by France and the IFF initiative led by the United Kingdom have been implemented. However, these initiatives have not been introduced in other major countries and their revenues are also limited.

Recognizing that the time is ripe to call for an action by the legislature to take the initiative to devise “transnational solutions” that go beyond party or faction borders, we hereby establish the “Parliamentary Group on International Solidarity Levy", an all-party parliamentary group dedicated to address the aforementioned needs and to ensure that Japan will also commit itself to the establishment of innovative financing mechanisms.

Objective
1. Organize and provide venues for study group sessions to study relevant systems and to facilitate substantial discussions in the Diet.
2. Push the Japanese government towards participation in the “Leading Group on Solidarity Levies” (LGS).[i]
3. Push the Japanese government to take the role of a lead nation for the “CTDL taskforce”[ii] which was proposed by the LGS.

Challenges
In order to realize CTDL[iii], it is necessary to create a framework where many countries can participate, including the British All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), the Italian government, the European Parliament, and others in addition to the members of the Leading Group which is led by the French government.


[i] Leading Group on Solidarity Levies (LGS): A 53-member group called on by France and Brazil established during the international conference on “Solidarity and Globalization: innovative financing for development and against pandemics” in Paris (Mar. 2006) to promote the establishment of international solidarity levy or innovative financing mechanisms. Eight (8) of its members have already enacted air ticket levy. Japan is an observer to this group and is a participant to the bi-annual plenary meeting of the LGS.

[ii] CTDL Taskforce: A decision was reached in the Second LGS Plenary Meeting held in Oslo (Feb. 2007) to set up two taskforces to tackle the issues of (1) tax haven and capital flight, and (2) Currency Transaction Development Levy (CTDL). On the Third LGS General Meeting in Seoul (Sep. 2007), Norway volunteered to take on the Tax Haven and Capital Flight Taskforce. However, there have been no volunteers for the CTDL taskforce.

[iii] CTDL (Currency Transaction Development Levy): An international currency taxing system proposed by a coalition of 61 non-governmental organizations led by the British NGO “Stamp Out Poverty”. It aims to place ultra-low taxes (0.005%) on currency transactions to produce additional funds for ODA and to help reduce the burdens on national governments financing the ODA.

The Upper House adopts a DPJ bill proposing to facilitate the establishment of a new UN service.

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by Takahiro Katsumi

(Tokyo, 11 January 2008) The Upper House of the Japanese parliament has adopted on Friday a counter-proposal bill submitted by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) regarding Japan’s assistance to the war-torn Afghanistan. The bill was submitted to the House of Councillors on 21 December last year and was adopted on Friday at the plenary session of the National Diet, the Japanese Parliament (press release).

As a counter-proposal to the government-submitted bill which aims to reinstate the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean to assist the maritime interdiction component of Operation Enduring Freedom led by the United States, the so called “Terror Elimination Law,” short for the” Special Measures Law for Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan for the Prevention and Elimination of International Terrorism,” included articles specifically addressing the concept of “Responsibility to Protect” and the establishment of a new UN service “capable of immediately taking necessary measures to respond to threats to international peace and security.”

A UN service “capable of immediately taking necessary measures to respond to threats to international peace and security.” refers to none other but UNEPS or UN Emergency Peace Service, a standing civil-military hybrid UN peace service capable of preventing and responding to humanitarian crisis situation which consists of highly trained professionals recruited on basis of free will. But because UNEPS is still a developing concept, it was considered inappropriate to use its name in the legislation. In fact, the word “UNEPS” has already appeared in the outline of the bill that was released to the press (related article).

With the exception of the United States Congress, which has twice in its history submitted such bill, this was the first time the proposal to establish such UN peace service was placed in the parliamentary agenda for deliberation (related information). We believe this action would play an important role to facilitate the engagement of international community in these discussions.

In the actual bill, the two sections that dealt with R2P and a new "UN service” read as follows (unofficial translation with altered formats):

Development of Basic Laws

Article 25

Basic laws governing the acting principles of our nation’s state actions concerning international security as well as our leading role to contribute in the global effort to prevent and eliminate international terrorism shall be established. To that end, basic acting principles shall be established for measures:

1. taken in response to implement the collective security provisions stipulated under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations;
2. taken in response in act of self-defense which is in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution; and
3. taken in response to the decision of the United Nations to act under the principle of Responsibility to Protect adopted at the General Assembly on the date of September 6, 2005 to protect individuals from the crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Consideration for the establishment of a new United Nations service to supplement the efforts to maintain and/or restore international peace and security

Article 26

As part of its effort in reforming the United Nations and to supplement the activities taken under the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in accordance with Section 1 Article 3 of the Law Concerning Cooperation for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (Law No. 79 of 1992) as well as other activities taken to maintain and/or restore international peace and security, the government shall take an active and leadership role in engaging the United Nations and states parties to the United Nations to facilitate the establishment of a new United Nations service capable of immediately taking necessary measure to respond to threats to international peace and security when such threat arises.

The Terror Elimination Law, which included the above provisions that were rejected in the Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on the day before, was nonetheless adopted at the plenary of the Upper House today by a very close vote of 120 to 118.

As a result of this impressive outcome, the bill will be continually discussed in the Regular Diet session to be convened next week. It is of great significance that a bill concerning the establishment of a new UN service has been discussed in the National Diet. No other parliament in the world except the United States Congress has done it until now.

Japan has become the second country in the world next to the United Sates to have tabled the establishment of a new standing UN peace service on its parliamentary agenda. We believe Japan’s action will prompt and lead the global community to engage in the discussions to establish such standing UN service, known to our friends by the name of UN Emergency Peace Service.