Consulate General of Japan at Chicago
在シカゴ日本国総領事館

The Government of Japan is committed to improving the world. In order to inform the Consulate's Midwestern jurisdiction of the extent and meaning of Japan's commitment, below is a primer on its policies towards Climate Change, Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and Biodiversity.

• Climate change threatens humanity. Its resolution is our responsibility to future generations.
• Japan will continue to exert leadership toward an early adoption of one new comprehensive legal document establishing a fair and effective international framework in which all major economies participate, based on the Copenhagen Accord (Copenhagen, December 2009).
1. Japan has set an ambitious target of emissions reduction (25% reduction by 2020 compared to the 1990 level).
2. Japan is supporting developing countries (total assistance of approximately 15 billion dollars up to 2012). Assistance totaling 5.32 billion dollars thereof had already been implemented by the end of April.
3. Japan will host a Ministerial Meeting on Forest Conservation Cooperation and Climate Change (REDD+) (on the margin of the CBD-COP 10. October 26th in Nagoya, Aichi is proposed).
   Click here for a Concept Paper on the Ministerial Meeting on Forest Conservation [PDF]

Being the only country that has suffered from atomic bombings during wartime, Japan will exercise its leadership toward achieving the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, by proposing realistic measures and ensuring their steady implementation.

• In order to ensure the success of the 2010 NPT Review Conference in May (i.e. revitalization of the NPT regime), Japan actively contributed to achieve a forward looking agreement through the following initiatives.
1. Japan took a strong initiative at the G8 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in March to issue a firm message that reflected active efforts by the G8 toward the 2010 NPT Review Conference.
2. After the release of the Joint Statement on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation by Foreign Ministers of Japan and Australia in February, the two countries jointly submitted a working paper on practical nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation measures to the 2010 NPT Review Conference. Japan’s four working papers, including this Japan-Australia joint initiative, provided a good basis for discussions in forming an agreement at the Conference. At the final stage of the Conference, when it was on the verge of breaking down, Foreign Minister Okada issued the Urgent Call for the unity of the state parties to the NPT together with ministers of five countries for achieving an agreement at the Conference.


• It is essentially important to intensify efforts to keep current momentum towards realization of a world without nuclear weapons. Japan will lead such efforts of the international community together with partner countries through the following measures.
1. Japan will contribute to ensuring steady implementation of the Action Plan agreed to by the 2010 NPT Review Conference. Japan will lead high-level discussions to realize a world of decreased nuclear risk on the way to a world without nuclear weapons.
2. Japan will lead international efforts to promote disarmament and non-proliferation education by March 2011.
3. Japan will redouble its efforts for nuclear non-proliferation to prevent the reemergence of states possessing nuclear weapons (e.g. resolution of nuclear issues of North Korea and Iran, universalization of the Additional Protocol of the IAEA, enhancement of nuclear security, and strengthening of the IAEA).

Background

• The MDGs are the 8 development goals set by the United Nations in 2001. The goals serve as guiding principles for development policy today.
• Some progress has been made in the past 10 years. However, further efforts are necessary, particularly in the health and education related fields, to achieve the goals by 2015.

• Japan attaches importance to the MDGs as common goals of the international community under a guiding concept of human security.
• Japan has actively contributed to the achievement of the MDGs by steadily implementing the commitments made on such occasions as G8 Summits and the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) (May 2008, Yokohama, Japan).
• At the G8 Muskoka summit on June 25-26, 2010, Japan announced that it additionally provides, in accordance with the Muskoka Initiative, up to 50 billion Japanese yen (approximately 500 million US dollars) in five years from 2011 in the field of maternal and child health.

• Japan continues to consider the MDGs to be an important set of goals that the international community should work together to achieve.

  "We will make all-out efforts for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals"
  (policy speech by Prime Minister Kan on June 11, 2010)

• Japan will contribute to international discussions by sharing its visions and approaches toward the UN MDGs Summit (September 20-22, 2010, New York).
1. Visions: highlighting human security and economic growth
2. Approaches: participatory approach involving all stakeholders, improvement of self-help capacity
• Japan will strengthen its efforts in the fields of health and education, goals where the progress is far behind compared to other sectors.

Japan will lead the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) into agreement for new actions to be taken by all stakeholders in the world, to ensure "Living in Harmony with Nature" for present and future generations around the world.

• Japan will host the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10, Dates: October 18-29, Venue: Aichi-Nagoya) and lead the Parties to its successful outcomes such as:
1. Adoption of the revised strategic plan in post-2010 period for biodiversity conservation and its sustainable utilization.
2. Completion of the work on the international regime on the Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources (ABS).
• To these ends, Japan is actively promoting the following:
1. Consultation for convergence among the Parties, putting emphasis on "living in harmony with nature" in the revised strategic plan as well as agreement on the international regime on ABS: Japan has financed the recent ABS Working Group and has been conducting consultation with and among the Parties.
2. Promotion of assistance to developing countries for achieving the targets and implementing the agreements ("Satoyama Initiatives", etc.)
3. Public awareness to encourage all stakeholders to take new actions within Japan and the UN system by proposing the "UN decade on biodiversity."

Click here for a more detailed Power Point outlining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' biodiversity policies.