Highlighting JAPAN

Prime Minister Abe Attends UHC Forum 2017

On December 13 and 14, 2017, an international conference titled “UHC Forum 2017” was held in Tokyo, Japan.

This conference, attended by Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, brought together high and senior level officials from the governments of various countries, representatives of international organizations and experts in one location to actively discuss on how to promote universal health coverage (UHC) internationally.

Based on the discussions at the conference, the “UHC Tokyo Declaration” was adopted as the commitment to accelerate the efforts towards achieving UHC by 2030 by the co-organizers of the forum.

In the high-level opening session on December 14, Prime Minister Abe mentioned that Japan has been taking up health as its priority issue and keeping its efforts to implement projects towards the achievement of UHC together with the international community, through opportunities such as the G7 Ise-Shima Summit and TICAD VI in 2016. He also emphasized that, to accelerate the promotion of UHC, it is crucial to enhance the momentum at the global level towards UHC, promote coordination among the national governments and donors at the country level, advance the continuous monitoring and evaluation, mobilize resources inside and outside of the country, and promote innovation. Building on these perspectives, Prime Minister Abe further announced that Japan will provide assistance amounting to approximately 2.9 billion dollars in the coming years to push forward the efforts towards UHC by countries and organizations.

Prime Minister Abe Meets with the Secretary-General of the United Nations

On December 14, Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

The leaders were in full agreement that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is essential for peace and stability in the region. Given North Korea’s ongoing nuclear and missile development programs, they shared the view that full implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions is necessary, that dialogue for the sake of dialogue with North Korea is meaningless and that it must be a meaningful one aimed at denuclearization. Prime Minister Abe expressed his wish to jointly send a strong message that will contribute to strengthening pressure on North Korea at the UNSC ministerial meeting on December 15, and the leaders reaffirmed their close collaboration. Prime Minister Abe called for understanding and cooperation on the early resolution of the abductions issue and obtained support from the Secretary-General.

Prime Minister Abe stated on the UN reform that he supports Secretary-General Guterres’ reform efforts aimed at creating a UN that can address present-day challenges even more effectively, and that Japan will contribute to those efforts. Prime Minister Abe also noted that it is vital to proceed UNSC reform in parallel with UN reform, and expressed expectations towards Secretary-General Guterres’ leadership.

Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan is implementing international cooperation in the main areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including health, education, disaster risk reduction, and women’s empowerment. The Prime Minister explained about the establishment of the SDGs Promotion Headquarters chaired by himself, and that Japan is further accelerating its efforts on SDGs both at home and abroad. Secretary-General Guterres highly valued the efforts of Japan. Prime Minister Abe and Secretary-General Guterres agreed that Japan and the UN will work together even more closely for the achievement of the SDGs. Prime Minister Abe remarked that Japan will continue to address the variety of issues facing the international community in cooperation with the UN, which plays a critical role in the peace and prosperity of the international community.