Japan to push for Africa seat on the UN Security Council
A ‘moment of truth’ for the UN, says Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, as he urges reform at the world body to address ‘historical injustice against Africa’.
“Japan reiterates its determination to redress the historical injustice against Africa of not being represented through a permanent membership on the Security Council,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunis, Tunisia on Sunday.
“In order for the UN to work effectively for peace and stability, there is an urgent need to strengthen the UN as a whole through Security Council reform,” he said.
The UN faces “a moment of truth”.
In June, Japan was one of the five countries elected to hold a non-permanent seat on the UNSC for the years 2023 and 2024.
The UNSC is made up of 15 members, five of whom are permanent and have veto-wielding power: the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.
The other 10 positions are filled by countries for two-year stints, five of which are announced each year. ...continue reading

Al Jazeera - Feb 05
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has dismissed one of his secretaries for homophobic comments that the prime minister called “outrageous”.

Nikkei - Feb 04
A secretary to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Masayoshi Arai, said Friday night he does "not want to live next door" to an LGBT couple and that he would "hate to see them," but quickly retracted the discriminatory remarks after they were reported by the media.

Kyodo - Feb 03
Japanese education minister Keiko Nagaoka on Thursday expressed the hope that students will be allowed to attend their graduation ceremonies in the spring without having to wear face masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan Times - Jan 31
Shotaro Kishida, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s eldest son and his executive secretary, is in the hot seat over media reports that he went shopping and sightseeing in Europe, Canada and the U.S. using official vehicles when he accompanied the prime minister to those places in January.

news24.com - Jan 31
A Japanese former soldier who was sexually assaulted by her colleagues said on Monday she is suing the government and the perpetrators over the "superficial" apologies and mistreatment she received.

FRANCE 24 English - Jan 29
Japan faces an existential threat with its birth rate at an all time low, yet the island nation has still to fully embrace immigration as a solution to the population decline. To tackle the problem, the government has slowly turned to bringing in foreign workers.

NHK - Jan 28
Japanese health authorities say they will start counting coronavirus infections using the same method they do for cases of seasonal influenza.

NHK - Jan 27
The Japanese government is planning to downgrade COVID-19 on May 8 to the same category of infectious diseases as seasonal influenza.

Kyodo - Jan 26
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday struck a cautious tone about legally recognizing same-sex marriage in line with other Group of Seven countries that have already adopted the practice.

dailymail.co.uk - Jan 24
It should have been one of the proudest moments of his political career. But one Japanese aide will remember his visit to the US President for the wrong reasons – after he got a dressing down from his mum for putting his hands in his pockets.

NHK - Jan 23
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says addressing the country's falling birthrate will be a top priority for the government.

Kyodo - Jan 23
The Japanese government on Monday issued an administrative guidance to the Unification Church demanding it comply with the law amid allegations that it has arranged for child adoption between believers' families without authorization.

Japan Today - Jan 20
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday announced plans to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 to the equivalent of seasonal influenza in the spring, a move that would further relax mask wearing and other preventive measures as the country seeks to return to normalcy.

staradvertiser.com - Jan 19
A Japanese court on Wednesday found three former utility company executives not guilty of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and the subsequent deaths of more than 40 elderly residents during their forced evacuation.

Nikkei - Jan 19
The Japanese government is set to decide Friday on whether to drop COVID-19 to its least serious category of infectious diseases this spring, Nikkei has learned.

Reuters - Jan 15
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday of shameful subservience to the United States and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself.