5. Madam President, on behalf of the Japanese delegation,
I should like to extend my heartiest congratulations to you
on your assumption of the Presidency of the twenty-fourth
session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
I am confident that, with your knowledge and wealth of
experience in the problems of the United Nations, which are
both so well known to us, you will lead this session to
fruitful accomplishments.
6. I wish to take this opportunity of expressing my
profound appreciation to the former President of the
General Assembly, His Excellency the late Mr. Emilio
Arenales. It is still fresh in our memory that he successfully
brought to a close the very difficult period of the
twenty-third session of the General Assembly. My delegation
shares the deep sorrow over his unexpected passing
with all the peoples of the world, recognizing that we have
lost a great leader in the cause of world peace.
7. On this occasion, I wish to pay high tribute to His
Excellency Secretary-General U Thant, and express my
appreciation of his devotion to the maintenance of world
peace. I very much hope that he will continue his efforts
towards the establishment of peace and progress of man-
kind.
8. At the outset of my statement, I should like to refer to
what I may call our struggle for peace. The Preamble of the
Charter of the United Nations, whenever we read it over
again, cannot but renew our deep emotions, I am sure that
the objective expressed in such words as:
“We, the peoples of the United Nations, determined to -
save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which
twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind...”
must have been held in the heart of each of our contemporaries
throughout the world, at least once, as his he own personal
conviction. This is an objective that is fully endorsed by the
Japanese people who have expressed, in the constitution
promulgated shortly after the close of the Second World War,
their strong determination to live as a peace-loving nation.
I think that the United Nations, as the pre-eminent world
Organization which aims to achieve an objective such as I
have mentioned, is the most appropriate forum in which to
speak of peace.
9. The struggle for peace should not be thought of as comprising
only our efforts to maintain or restore peace and security in the
contemporary world. The struggle for peace must also comprise
creative efforts to explore the way, and open the road, to
everlasting peace.
10. In-the present world situation the supreme obligation
of all States to their own peoples would appear to be the
protection of their respective national interests. When the
forces of nationalism have reached their peak as they have
today, and indeed because they have reached such a point,
I am convinced that harmony must be achieved among the
States that aspire to nationalism through the further
strengthening of true internationalism. As long as nations
consider their national objective to be the maintenance and
enhancement of the ~peace ‘and welfare of their peoples,
they should be convinced that the securing and strengthening
of international peace should be an essential pre-requisite
in the attainment of such an objective. Accordingly, our
present and future efforts should be directed towards
achieving a stake in which all the nations of the world will
co-operate with the United Nations and move forward together,
step by step, towards everlasting peace.
11. I do not think that there is any alternative. Specifically,
the struggle for peace consists in efforts answering the
expectations of all peoples of the world for the future
peace-keeping ability of this international Organization, by
enhancing the effectiveness of the functions of the United
Nations in the maintenance of peace. The struggle for peace
means to strive towards general and complete disarmament,
through concrete disarmament measures; and the struggle
for peace is to eliminate frustration, which is the fundamental
cause of social insecurity, by raising the living standards
of the peoples of the world. Furthermore, it is extremely
important to remove the distrust existing among nations and
races, or between different political systems based on different
ideologies, by bringing about an easing of world tensions,
and promoting mutual friendship and understanding among nations.
12. In discussing these matters, I should like, first, to take
up the question of the peace-keeping activities of the
United Nations. There is no need for me to dwell on the
fact that the maintenance of international peace and security
is the primary objective of this Organization. For a
quarter of a century since the Second World War, we have
fortunately been spared the catastrophe of world-wide war
owing mainly to the mutual restraint exercised by the major
Powers. On the other hand, there has been a frequent
recurrence of local conflicts and, to our great regret, all too
many regions in the world today are still confronted with
serious problems. As is demonstrated by the past peace-keeping
operations of the United Nations, this Organization can be
effective, although perhaps not in a spectacular fashion, in
preventing the spread of hostilities and blood-shed and
in arranging peaceful settlements.
13. It is our belief that in order to maintain world peace,
these peace-keeping functions of the United Nations should
be further strengthened. However, the extent to which they
can be developed depends entirely on the amount of effort
that can be made by each Member State. In fact, the success
of past peace-keeping operations has been due to initiatives
taken by and with the co-operation of Member States. In this
connexion, I should like to emphasize the immense responsibility
of the super-Powers for ensuring world peace and security. They
are expected, positively, to assume a major role in the
maintenance of peace in general, not to mention their obligation
to refrain from the use of military force as a means of solving
international disputes. As a peace-loving nation, Japan is
prepared to co-operate fully with the United Nations and to
participate actively in its peace-keeping role.
i4. I should like, at this juncture, to touch very briefly
upon some of the problems affecting our Asian continent.
The continuation of talks for peace in Viet-Nam, which are
currently going on in Paris, gives us ground to entertain
high hopes for the restoration of peace in that area. There
still remains, to be sure, a wide difference of views between
both sides; nevertheless, we earnestly cherish the hope that
these various difficulties may be overcome through a
genuine desire for peace on both sides, so that peace in
Viet-Nam may be attained at the earliest date. Japan is
willing to co-operate in whatever way it can to turn this
hope into reality. It is to be hoped that, once peace is
established, the United Nations for its part will direct
positive efforts to the maintenance of the peace in close
co-operation with the parties concerned.
15. For Japan the maintenance of peace in the Far East is
a matter of special interest and gravity. In this context, we
cannot conceal in particular our serious concern over the
situation of sustained tension now continuing in the Korean
Peninsula, which lies in close proximity to our own country.
On the other hand, it is most gratifying that the Republic of
Korea has been showing steady progress towards stability and
development. Japan expresses its deep appreciation of the
efforts made in the past by the United Nations for the
maintenance of peace in this peninsula and earnestly hopes
that there will never be a recurrence of a large-scale armed
attack there. Japan is determined to continue to co-operate in
United Nations activities as best it can for ensuring the
peace in the area.
16. I turn now to the question of China which constitutes
a problem of the utmost importance affecting peace in the
Far East and indeed in the entire world. In that sense the
position of my Government concerning the question of
Chinese representation in the United Nations is that it is an
"important question", all the more so since many other
questions in the United Nations are so designated. Japan,
for its part, sincerely looks forward to the advent of the
day when the People’s Republic of China will willingly
adopt an attitude of international co-operation and play a
constructive role for world peace.
17. Active consultations and discussions are now in
progress inside and outside the United Nations with respect
to the Middle East questions; but in spite of these
consultations, to our deep regret, armed conflicts persist
the troubled area. Japan sincerely hopes that solution of
this very difficult question will be brought about through
the further efforts of all the interested parties and
particularly of the major Powers in line with the Security
Council resolution of 22 November 1967 [242 (1967)].
18. The position of my Government, which is opposed to
racial discrimination, remains unchanged on questions
concerning southern Africa. My Government hopes that the
United Nations will continue to make constructive efforts
for the solution of these problems. It is to be expected that
innumerable obstacles will have to be surmounted before a
solution of such difficulties can be found. As in the past,
Japan is ready to do its part in the search for solutions of
all such problems.
19, Disarmament is an important means in the struggle for
peace. This is one of the essential measures required to
break the vicious circle of the expansion of armaments and
the acceleration of tensions. Accordingly, if, while strengthening
security systems under the United Nations, we succeed in
obtaining a gradual scaling down of the armaments of countries,
subject to effective verification and without affecting the
balance between nations, we shall, in practical terms, be able
to alleviate world tensions and lessen the danger of war.
20. We, the Japanese people, have the earnest wish that
nuclear weapons should be eliminated and that an international
society free from war should be realised. Japan became a member
of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva this year. Through
our participation in the work of the Committee, we hope to
contribute, more than it past, to the maintenance of peace by
the promotion of disarmament.
21. Japan supports the view that priority be given to
nuclear disarmament. We consider that, as techniques for
the detection of underground nuclear weapon tests make
progress, concrete measures of international co-operation
should be advanced towards the complete prohibition of
nuclear weapon tests. Also the halting of production of
fissionable nuclear materials for weapon purposes and the
transfer of such materials to peaceful uses should be
achieved. Closely related to those objectives is the problem
of freezing and reducing the stockpiles of means of
delivering nuclear weapons. We welcome the fact that talks
between the United States and the Soviet Union are to
begin on the control of strategic missiles.
22. Japan, as a maritime country surrounded by sea, has
vital interests in the prevention of an arms race on the
sea-bed and the ocean floor. Since the Japanese people, as I
have mentioned, earnestly hope for the complete elimination
of nuclear weapons, we consider it very important to prohibit,
in the first instance, nuclear or other mass-destruction
weapons on the sea-bed and the ocean floor, which is the last
frontier of mankind on earth.
23. Chemical and biological weapons, like nuclear weapons, are
capable of being used for mass destruction and it is imperative
that we should reaffirm the prohibition of their use, prohibit
the development and manufacture of such weapons and scrap the
stockpiles of them.
24. The ideal of permanent peace can be brought about
only when general and complete disarmament has been achieved.
Regrettably, of course, the reality is that we cannot achieve
this goal at once. Therefore the only way left is to adopt
successively, step by step, partial disarmament measures, as
such measures become feasible. At the same time, it is essential
that we maintain the principle that these successive disarmament
measures should be carried out in such a way that the balance of
armaments will be maintained so as to ensure the security of all
countries.
25, I turn now to a third very important factor in the
struggle for peace. A victory will not be won in this struggle
unless progress in the welfare of all mankind is achieved. In
other words, the promotion of economic and social development
is the prerequisite for political stability and the foundation
for the active construction of peace. Energetic preparations are
now being made by all the United Nations family of organizations
concerned with the Second United Nations Development Decade in
the 1970s. It is to be hoped that this Second Development Decade
will contribute significantly to the economic and social
development of the developing countries.
26. As the First Development Decade is nearing its end, it
is noteworthy that significant economic development has been
achieved in many developing countries in this decade and that
competent organizations in the field of economic and social
development have been consolidated within the United Nations
family. I believe that in the next decade it is our obligation
to secure the efficient and effective operation of these
organizations and, at the same time, to maintain and promote
genuine co-operation between the developing and the developed
countries.
27. We, for our part, are determined to make every possible
contribution to the successful achievement of the Second
Development Decade. The most significant evidence of our efforts
for economic co-operation is the flow of financial resources
from Japan to the developing countries in recent years. The volume
of the flow of financial resources from Japan to the developing
countries for the last five years, for example, has increased by
three times, having surpassed 1,000 million dollars in 1968.
Trade resolutions between Japan and the developing countries have
also been strengthened, and the amount of our imports from those
countries have almost doubled over the last five years, reaching
5,300 million dollars in 1963. The rates of increase of both financial
flow from and imports to Japan are among the highest of the developed
countries.
28. Japan, as an Asian nation, has made particular efforts to
strengthen its aid to and expand imports from Asian countries. Asia
has the largest population in the world and the Asian countries need
a great amount of aid for their development.
29. As I stated in the Fourth Ministerial Conference for the Economic
Development of South-East Asia held at Bangkok from 3 to 5 April 1969,
the coming decade will present great opportunities to countries both
within and outside the South-East Asian region, and Japan intends
actively to pursue economic co-operation with other Asian countries,
commensurate with the growth of its own national economy and, at the
same time, to extend every possible support to the organizations of
Asian regional co-operation, such as the Economic Commission for Asia
and the Far East and the Asian Development Bank. My Government is
further considering what active role we can play in co-operation with
other countries, once peace is secured in Viet-Nam, in the
reconstruction and development of Viet-Nam and its war-afflicted
neighbouring countries.
30. I earnestly hope that the development strategy for the
1970s will contribute to victory over poverty and hunger in
the developing countries and that the coming decade will
truly be worthy of being called the decade of peace and
development throughout the world.
31. I have now discussed various aspects of the struggle for
peace. The United Nations, which should be the pivotal
organ of that endeavour, will celebrate its twenty-fifth
anniversary next year, and I should like to take this
opportunity of expressing a few comments about what this
Organization should be. On the occasion of this anniversary,
it may be highly useful to reflect upon the areas in
which the United Nations has failed, during these twenty-five
years, to achieve what was originally expected of it, to
define the future direction which it should follow and, at
the same time, to review the Charter of the United Nations
for the purpose of ensuring a more effective functioning of
the Organization. The purposes and principles of the United
Nations as set out in the Charter remain quite appropriate
as norms of action for Member States, despite the passage
of these twenty-five years. Nevertheless, the world situation
has evolved in a way that is different in many respects from
what the Charter anticipated at its inception. Therefore, we
must take full account of this reality when we search for
the best way of realizing the ideals represented by the
establishment of the United Nations. In the Charter, there
are some provisions which call for review in the light of its
history of the last twenty odd years, such as Articles
concerning an “enemy State”, or those concerning the —
Trusteeship Council which has almost accomplished its
mission. On the other hand, certain practices and precedents
have been established to meet the needs of reality.
Moreover, significant resolutions have been adopted and
important subsidiary organs have been established in the
spirit of the Charter.
32. On behalf of the Japanese Government, I should like
to take this opportunity of presenting a few suggestions
based on the review of the activities of the United Nations
over the past decade.
33. I should like, first, to refer to questions related to the
Security Council and the General Assembly. I consider that
the basic structure of the Security Council, in which the
super-Powers occupy the central positions and assume
major responsibilities for the maintenance of peace, is
realistic. Nevertheless, we are far from satisfied with the
performance of the Security Council in the past and we all
know that there are many problems still to be solved in this
regard.
34, Given the realities of the international situations since
the establishment of the United Nations, various questions
should be examined in order to make the functioning of the
General Assembly and the Security Council more effective.
Among these might be enumerated such questions as
whether the composition of the Security Council and its
method of voting should remain the same as originally
established, or whether the powers of the Genera! Assembly
should be enlarged and should be expressly provided for in
the Charter.
35. I believe that, for the Security Council to be the most
effective possible, it is desirable, in view of its importance,
that it should be an organ composed of Member States
which, as clearly provided in the Charter, are in a position
to render the most effective contributions to the maintenance
of international peace and security and also are truly
representative of various regions of the world.
36. A comprehensive re-examination of the activities be
the United Nations is necessary, not-only in the political
and peace-keeping field but also in the field of economic
and social development. The funds allocated to the activities
of the United Nations family of organizations in the
latter sphere have been rapidly increasing’ in recent years.
Japan is making a great effort to contribute substantially to
these funds. We believe, at the same time, that a better
co-ordination of the work of the United Nations and its
related agencies is urgently required, including a serious
study of the activities of the individual organizations in
order to avoid any duplication of work, keeping in mind
the need for rational use of financial resources. Such
co-ordination is essential so that the United Nations and its
related agencies are to cope effectively with the questions
involved in promoting welfare in the economic and social
fields.
37. I believe that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
United Nations next year would be a good occasion to
re-examine the activities of this Organization, taking into
account the possibility of amending the Charter, and of
making further efforts towards the realization of everlasting
peace. I therefore hope that the United Nations will
reactivate its procedures for considering such matters at
the twenty-fifth session of the General Assembly, although,
judging from past experience, I am fully aware of the
complexities involved. Would it not be possible, however,
to set a future date when formal proposals for a revision of
the Charter might be considered, making full use of the
time available before that date for the necessary preparatory
work? Japan, for its part, would be prepared to give
full consideration to submitting its own proposals at an
appropriate time.
38. In the pursuit of our common ideals we have all
subscribed to the spirit embodied in the Charter of the
United Nations. Although we are confronted by the
realities of international politics, we should not lose sight of
our ideals for a moment. Cognizant of the severe realities
which hinder the attainment of our ideals, we should not be
rigid in our efforts to cope with these realities. Our attitude
should always be one of exploring every possibility for
advancement. It is only in these ways that it will be possible
for us to clear away the obstacles from the road to
everlasting peace.