Recent moves by the Japanese Government has revealed that Japan will be using its place on the United Nations Security Council to manage to push for a better African seat on the top world body.
This had been revealed by the Japanesse Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday.
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“Japan reiterates its determination to redress the historical injustice against Africa of not being represented through a permanent membership on the Security Council,” Kishida told the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunis.
“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.
Japan had been reported to be among five countries elected in June which would be holding a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2023 and 2024.
Kishida who had made the statement over live video from Tokyo after testing positive for Covid-19 days earlier, reiterated a pledge announced on Saturday to invest some $30 billion in Africa over the next three years.
He also announced that Japan would appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa, where a long drought has prompted the UN’s weather agency to warn this week of an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.
Kishida said Japan would pump $8.3 million into the troubled but gold-rich Liptako-Gourma tri-borders area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso that has been ravaged by jihadist attacks in recent years. The aid will aim to “develop good cooperation between residents and local authorities” and help improve administrative services for the area’s five million residents, he said.
The Japanese premier also promised aid to train police officers and support “fair and transparent” elections across the continent, pledging Japan’s support for the rule of law in Africa.
