Protecting All Life to Its Fullest
03 July 2013
Full translation of proposed LDP amendment to Article 9 and 96 of the Constitution of Japan
30 November 2009
A Tokyo Conference Reaffirms Japan's Role in Afghanistan
"Thank you for achieving what politics alone cannot."
Japan’s Role: Since Japan enjoys an excellent reputation with Afghanistan and the immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, it is highly desirable that Japan play a key role within the international community in supporting the peace and reintegration programme led by the Afghan government. The participants welcomed measures for aid effectiveness that ensure transparency, accountability and more effective results that would enable the government of Japan to continue to provide support to the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
Role of Islamic States: The participants called for increased cooperation among Islamic states to prevent the spread of radical groups that promote violence, and to advance the reform of madrassas and other efforts at de-radicalisation to help individuals or groups to break the cycle of violence (including the denouncing of suicide bombings and drug trafficking as un-Islamic practices). Therefore, it was proposed that WCRP facilitate gatherings of prominent Islamic scholars to engage Islamic teachings to promote peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. The participants affirmed the importance of the good offices of His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as requested by the Afghan Government, to utilize His Majesty’s influence as a political and religious leader to help the process of peace-building in Afghanistan.
25 November 2009
Can Japan bring peace to Afghanistan? (The Foreign Policy)
13 October 2009
Focus given to the Northeast Asia nuclear-weapon-free zone at the PNND Annual Assembly
(New York 13 October) Parliamentarians and experts from around the globe gathered at the 2009 PNND Assembly, which took place in New York on October 11th and 12th. The two-day conference on “the role of parliamentarians in advancing nuclear abolition” was divided into several sessions and speakers from a dozen countries tackled the challenges of nuclear disarmament before an audience of one hundred legislators and specialists.
The event notably enabled PNND South Korean Co-President Mikyung Lee and Japan Council Member Tadashi Inuzuka to meet for the first time. Both parliamentarians decided to develop a plan that would bring Japanese and Koreans together in promoting a Northeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon- Free zone.
According to a draft treaty based on a NGO working paper adopted in 2008 by a DPJ’s parliamentary group, Northeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free zone should rely on current six-party talks with a 3 (ROK, DPRK and Japan) plus 3 (China, Russia and the United States) framework, non-dependence to nuclear weapons, negative security assurances and obligations to educate current and future generations on the consequences of atomic bombings.
The last session was followed by a public panel on “advancing the UNSG’s five-point plan on nuclear disarmament”. Chaired by Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, the discussion group saw the participation of Mr. Inuzuka from the National Diet of Japan, Mr. Kucinich from the U.S. Congress, Mr. Lee from the ROK Assembly, and Ms. Zapf from the German Bundestag.
The Annual Assembly ended with the PNND Council meeting on October 12th, where various matters, such as activity reports, regional updates, partnerships and funding, were discussed and decided upon.
A delegation of senior PNND members then met with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and presented him the Parliamentarians’ Statement Supporting a Nuclear Weapons Convention.
16 June 2009
UN expert on Somalia implores the Japanese legislatures for a "cerebral approach" in the new antipiracy bill
The five prominent pirate centers in Somalia
(Click the map to see in full size)
(TOKYO 16 June) Appearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense at the Upper House of the National Diet (Japanese parliament) on Tuesday to discuss the efficacy of a Japan's original Anti-Piracy Measures Bill, the UN expert on conflict prevention, Mr. Desmond J. Molloy of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, implored the Japanese legislatures to take a more "cerebral approach" in dealing with the Somali pirates issues off the coast of defacto dysfunct Somalia.
In his testimony, Mr. Molloy appealed to the Members of the Committee that in dealing with the Somali-originated pirates, the international flotilla is not a sustainable or cost-effective solution. Rather, Mr. Molloy suggested that instead of continuing with the "contingency activitiy," intelligence and policing activity will have a "greater impact". Referring the current opearation as only causing a so-called "cockroach effect," where one will be faced with dispersal of the bug even if one squashes one out of a swarm of them, Mr. Molloy made the following recommendations to the legislatures in considering drafting laws to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden:
- Careful mapping of key actors in piracy
- Sustained pursuit of criminal prosecution of major (warlord) perpetrators by UN and Western interests
- Confiscation of foreign criminally acquired assets of those families engaged in piracy (most leading families have dual citizenship in Western countries with assets located there)
- Acknowledgement by the international community regarding the pillage of fish resources and toxic dumping in Somali territorial waters; sanction against those perpetrating this theft
- Community based compensation through community capacity building investment with context sensitive organizations such as SAACID
As its name stands, RECAAP is a regional cooperation organization to counter piracy in Asia which was created by the initiative of Japanese authorities. Another testifier argued that in the longrun, though it make take decades, a Somali-version of RECAAP could be envisioned.
For more information:
- A full resume of Mr. Molloy's testimony
- Mr. Molloy's powerpoint slides.
- Summary of the draft Anti-Piracy Measures Bill
- An offiicial statement on the bill by the Prime Minister.
- A webcast of today's Committee session (see down below).