Statement by Ms. YOSHIDA Aya, Minister, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, at the 47th Session of the Committee on Information
2025/4/28
(As delivered)
Mr. Chair,
Let me congratulate you, Ambassador Rein Tammsaar of Estonia, for your election and assure you of Japan’s full support, and extend my gratitude to Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon of Pakistan, the previous Session’s Chair for his excellent work.
I thank Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Global Communications (DGC), for her informative briefing.
Mr. Chair,
As the international and regional political tensions remain high and global flow of information is growing larger and getting faster, our international community is facing difficult challenges and unstable situations in many parts of the world. In a world of diverse opinions and positions, multilateralism has been an important pillar of global governance as a means of overcoming these challenges and the UN is at the centre of multilateralism in the international community.
More concretely speaking, 193 UN Member States discuss and negotiate daily on various topics of importance and urgency including peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, and humanitarian issues. Guided by these discussions and negotiations and funded by the contributions of the Member States, UN agencies, funds and programmes operate all around the world. Their work varies from conflict resolution to actions to pandemic and climate change as well as promotion of gender equality and helping harness digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.
It is now more critical than ever for the UN system to engage with the peoples of Member States to disseminate information on its activities and their contribution to resolving global and regional problems through multilateralism. Japan recognises that the DGC is at the core of this function and supports its tireless work in this regard.
Mr. Chair,
Today, let me raise the following three points.
First, Japan commends the public relations activities of UNIC, including those in local languages, on social and legacy media, as well as in-person, so that information is effectively disseminated to local audiences.
As mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report, UNIC Tokyo, under the leadership of Director NEMOTO Kaoru, organised a social media promotion around the message “It will be hotter if we do not take action,” last summer, as a part of its “Promise of 1.5℃” climate campaign. This promotion not only gained broad support by partners and influencers with more than 320 campaign posts on X, but also was covered by multiple Japanese television networks. As of the beginning of 2025, the number of media outlets participating in the campaign reached 169, the largest since the campaign started in 2022 in cooperation with SDG Media Compact.
Second, Japan welcomes the adoption of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) by consensus last September. We believe that digital cooperation through the GDC among multi-stakeholders will protect and empower all individuals by minimising the risks and maximising the benefits of digital technologies. This will further lead to the protection of human dignity, on which Japan places the utmost importance. Japan will also actively engage in the processes of establishing the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which are one of the important commitments of the GDC.
Finally, let me stress the significance of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, which commenced this month as an opportunity to further accelerate our global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Expo 2025 is joined by 165 states, regions, and organisations, including 35 UN agencies, and is expected to attract more than 28 million people. Japan will spare no effort in playing a catalytic role of enhancing communications between the participants and guests, under the theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”.
Mr. Chair,
To conclude, my delegation assures you of its continued constructive engagement in the negotiation of draft resolutions.
I thank you.
Let me congratulate you, Ambassador Rein Tammsaar of Estonia, for your election and assure you of Japan’s full support, and extend my gratitude to Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon of Pakistan, the previous Session’s Chair for his excellent work.
I thank Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Global Communications (DGC), for her informative briefing.
Mr. Chair,
As the international and regional political tensions remain high and global flow of information is growing larger and getting faster, our international community is facing difficult challenges and unstable situations in many parts of the world. In a world of diverse opinions and positions, multilateralism has been an important pillar of global governance as a means of overcoming these challenges and the UN is at the centre of multilateralism in the international community.
More concretely speaking, 193 UN Member States discuss and negotiate daily on various topics of importance and urgency including peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, and humanitarian issues. Guided by these discussions and negotiations and funded by the contributions of the Member States, UN agencies, funds and programmes operate all around the world. Their work varies from conflict resolution to actions to pandemic and climate change as well as promotion of gender equality and helping harness digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.
It is now more critical than ever for the UN system to engage with the peoples of Member States to disseminate information on its activities and their contribution to resolving global and regional problems through multilateralism. Japan recognises that the DGC is at the core of this function and supports its tireless work in this regard.
Mr. Chair,
Today, let me raise the following three points.
First, Japan commends the public relations activities of UNIC, including those in local languages, on social and legacy media, as well as in-person, so that information is effectively disseminated to local audiences.
As mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report, UNIC Tokyo, under the leadership of Director NEMOTO Kaoru, organised a social media promotion around the message “It will be hotter if we do not take action,” last summer, as a part of its “Promise of 1.5℃” climate campaign. This promotion not only gained broad support by partners and influencers with more than 320 campaign posts on X, but also was covered by multiple Japanese television networks. As of the beginning of 2025, the number of media outlets participating in the campaign reached 169, the largest since the campaign started in 2022 in cooperation with SDG Media Compact.
Second, Japan welcomes the adoption of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) by consensus last September. We believe that digital cooperation through the GDC among multi-stakeholders will protect and empower all individuals by minimising the risks and maximising the benefits of digital technologies. This will further lead to the protection of human dignity, on which Japan places the utmost importance. Japan will also actively engage in the processes of establishing the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which are one of the important commitments of the GDC.
Finally, let me stress the significance of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, which commenced this month as an opportunity to further accelerate our global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Expo 2025 is joined by 165 states, regions, and organisations, including 35 UN agencies, and is expected to attract more than 28 million people. Japan will spare no effort in playing a catalytic role of enhancing communications between the participants and guests, under the theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”.
Mr. Chair,
To conclude, my delegation assures you of its continued constructive engagement in the negotiation of draft resolutions.
I thank you.