- By Theme
The UN and Development
Around the world, billions of people suffer from hunger and poverty, unable to receive adequate food, drinking water, education or health care. Also global issues such as environmental degration, over population, HIV/AIDS, and the digital divide are growing.
In September 2000, in order to address these concerns, the United Nations held the UN Millennium Summit where they adopted the UN Millennium Declaration. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which comprise 8 goals, including the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, was established based on this declaration. These goals call upon the international community to work together for their achievement by the year 2015.
Furthermore, as 2015, the deadline of the MDGs, approaches, international discussions to formulate a new set of international development goals beyond 2015 are already underway. As part of this process, a report of the ‘High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ was issued in May 2013, and the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs OWG)(as formulated at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil in 2012) has also been launched.
Japan’s Efforts
Japan fervently believes that the international community must work together as a whole in order to build a better world, and that the MDGs are the keystone of this effort.
Japan has been actively contributing toward the achievement of the MDGs by the year 2015, and has achieved concrete successes through both bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) and projects implemented in cooperation with international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Japan's internetional efforts toward development are grounded in the concept of Human Security; a notion which takes into account the needs and fosters the well-being of each individual person. Japan is committed to actively promoting and disseminating the notion of Human Security throughout the field of international development cooperation; and considers Human Security to be a guiding principle of its foreign policy . In paticular. Japan committed to making concrete contributions in the fields of health and eduction based on this concept.
In June 2013, Japan hosted the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Department (TICAD V) to promote development in Africa where there is huge potential.
Furthermore, the Japanese Government has also been actively making contributions to discussions on the post-2015 development agenda through active participation in the discussions of the SDGs OWG.
Related Documents
[The MDGs]
- The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
- Initiatives of Japan toward 2015
- Post-2015 Development Agenda
[Rio+20]
[Japan’s development policy]
- Official Development Assistance (ODA)
- Sectorial Development Policy
- Human Security
- ODA White Papers
- Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD)