Japan Echo Web

How We Can Share Hope with Africans

Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko made his diplomatic debut at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. In his address at the General Debate (September 23, 2011), Noda referred first and foremost to the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck the country just over six months prior, and on behalf of the Japanese people expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the friendship, solidarity and helping hands extended from around the world. He noted that university students gathered in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in memory of Japanese victims of the earthquake and together sang the popular Japanese song known outside Japan as “Sukiyaki” (titled “Ue wo muite arukou [Look up when we walk]” in Japanese) saying they wished to deliver the song to the Japanese people. He also talked about poor children in Brazil who collected change and sent their contribution to Japan in a tin can. Referring to these stories as examples, Noda expressed appreciation for the “bonds between Japan and the international community.”

Noda emphasized in the speech that the Japanese government has been putting forth full efforts to restore and reconstruct the disaster-affected areas, and that steady progress is being made toward securing stable control of the situation at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In other words, he emphasized to the world that Japan is nearing a return to a normal, safe state from the emergency climate that followed the earthquake. This is important for attracting the investment, business transactions and overseas tourists that have been shying away from Japan. Yet what should be commended here is the fact that Noda also clarified in the address, despite the country’s circumstances, that Japan will promptly contribute to international peace and safety, instead of limiting its efforts to cooperation with the international community in disaster risk reduction and nuclear power safety, which are directly linked to the country’s post-earthquake struggle.

Notably, the Prime Minister referred to deployment of destroyers and patrol aircraft for combating piracy off the coast of Somalia, and to continuing financial support for Afghanistan (approximately $5 billion of assistance over five years for which Japan expressed its commitment in 2009). He also announced what he called Japan’s “new commitments.” One is its support for the nation-building efforts in South Sudan, which became independent in July, as well as for the consolidation of peace in the region (including dispatch of personnel to the newly established United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan [UNMISS]). Another commitment is further humanitarian aid to those suffering from drought in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia. Also included in Japan’s new commitments was its support for reform and democratization efforts of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, which are now undergoing a massive change referred to as the Arab Spring.

Apart from the scale, form and appropriateness of Japan’s support, Noda expressed Japan’s clear intent to provide timely support for issues in the international community, which the international community is closely watching. The Japanese government should naturally give top priority to restoration and reconstruction from its immense disaster, but considering the fact that since before the earthquake Japan had been inward-looking and derided as suffering from “Galápagos syndrome” despite its outstanding technological innovation, it is highly significant that Japan has made it clear to the world and its own people that it intends to strive to give hope for the future to people in distant countries who are forced to face hardship; unflinchingly and by renewing its awareness of the bonds between Japan and the international community, even though Japan itself is going through a troubled period.