NEW YORK: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday stressed the need for “concrete actions” for reforming the UN Security Council, in an address at the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York.

With next year marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations, “we should take concrete actions toward the Security Council reform,” he said.

“Japan is determined to continue to contribute to the realization and maintenance of international peace and security by strengthening the free and open international order based on the rule of law, in a reformed (Security) Council,” Kishida added.

Apparently referring to the United Nations’ failure to function properly during crises such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kishida said, “The Summit of the Future is witnessing a clear call from member states for action on reform, with a majority supporting the expansion of both permanent and nonpermanent seats (on the Security Council).”

He said, “A great majority are also acutely aware of the Security Council’s vital role in international peace and security, and the urgent need to reform it and restore confidence in its effectiveness.”

Citing “the increasingly dire situation” surrounding nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, Kishida said, “No matter how difficult the path to a world without nuclear weapons may be, we cannot stop our progress.”

Japan, the only country that experienced nuclear attacks in war, “remains committed to promoting realistic and practical efforts…toward a world without nuclear weapons” he said.

The western Japan city of Hiroshima was flattened by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. The city of Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, suffered the same fate three days later.

JIJI Press