Statement by Minister Katsuhide Ariyoshi
Delegation of Japan
On Agenda Item 54: Question relating to Information
Fourth Committee
Sixty-fifth Session of the General Assembly
20 October 2010

Mr. Chairman,

Let me first associate myself with the previous speakers in thanking the Secretary-General for his report A/65/277 and express my sincere gratitude for the excellent works conducted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) under the remarkable leadership of the Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Kiyo Akasaka.  Japan is pleased to take note that DPI is widely covering the main and priority activities of the United Nations such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), international peace and security, human rights, climate change and sustainable development, gender equality, peacekeeping operations, disarmament and African issues.  I also appreciate the public information work undertaken by United Nations Information Centers (UNICs) in 63 locations around the world, including Tokyo, and commend DPI for taking on the challenges of improving its effectiveness and rationalizing its operations. In this context, I would like to congratulate Ms. Mari Yamashita for her appointment as the new Director of UNIC Tokyo in July this year.

Mr. Chariman,

During the period of the first half of 2010 covered by the Secretary-General’s report, Japan saw a number of important international events, among which I would particularly like to mention the visit of Secretary-General H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon to Japan.

The Secretary-General visited Japan from the 3rd to 7th of August upon the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. During his stay in Japan, H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon met H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan and H.E. Mr. Katsuya Okada, then Minister for Foreign Affairs. In these meetings, they exchanged views on various global issues such as the development issue, in particular the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), peacekeeping operations (PKO), the DPRK, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, Security Council reform, climate change, biodiversity, and regional issues such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.

H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon also visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima and attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony for the first time as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which sent a strong message to the international community and marked new momentum toward the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons with this year being the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs. I am convinced that this visit to Japan by Mr. Ban Ki-Moon further strengthened the cooperative relationship between Japan and the United Nations and I take this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General once again for making his visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and demonstrating his earnest resolve to realize a world without nuclear weapons.

We also appreciate the arrangements made by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Tokyo during the visit of the Secretary-General and our government believes that it is indispensable for UNIC Tokyo, under the new Director Ms. Mari Yamashita, to continue to ensure its accountability and Japan would like to continue close cooperation with DPI in order to realize sound management and to strengthen the strategic activities of public information of UNIC Tokyo.

Mr. Chairman,

During the week of the MDGs High-Level Plenary Meeting and the General Debate of the 65th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan and H.E. Mr. Seiji Maehara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan came here to UN Headquaters. They respectively delivered their statements at various fora and conducted a considerable number of bilateral and multi-lateral meetings which were widely covered by the Japanese media thanks to the cooperation extended by the Secretariat. In this regard, we are very grateful for every effective and kind assistance provided by the News and Media Division of DPI, in particular, the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit.

Considering the various global challenges the world faces today, I expect DPI, as the very organ which advocates for the works of the United Nations, to deploy further strategic operations and implement activities in a more efficient and transparent manner than ever before and to continue to work to enhance its effectiveness, fulfill accountability, and actively engage in public relations activities of the United Nations by providing timely, accurate, impartial, comprehensive and coherent information.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate Japan’s determination to continue our support for the Department of Public Information.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.