Speech by H.E. Ambassador Odano at
12th EU-Japan Conference on
"The Japan-Europe Partnership: Facing Common Global and Regional Challenges"
23rd - 24th November, 2009
The annual conference on EU-Japan relations has become a regular milestone in the debates surrounding the EU-Japan strategic Partnership. Accordingly, this event provides a unique opportunity for debate on both the latest research, as well as current policy trends. It brings together academics, experts, and policy-makers from Japan and Europe.
The theme selected for this year’s conference was the Japan-Europe Partnership: Facing Global and Regional Challenges. The conference analyzed some of the common and global challenges facing Japan and Europe: international migration, regulatory reform, security challenges and the renewal of their decades-old partnership.
The core intellectual goal of the conference was to both assess these common challenges and interpret the behavior and responses of Japan and the Europe.
H.E. Ambassador Odano made a speech entitled: "The Japan-EU Partnership in a Changing World". The following is the text of his speech:
"Let me begin my opening remarks with a word of congratulations to the Annual Conference on Japan-EU Relations. I would like to express my appreciation to the co-organizers, especially Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) for their efforts in organizing this event.
When we look back at 2009 so far, it is evident that Japan, the EU and the U.S., which are all like-minded partners, have gone through significant changes. In January, the Obama administration assumed office with high expectations and its foreign policy which has focused on increasing dialogue and engagement has been generally well received. The European Parliament elections took place in all 27 member countries in June. President Barroso was reappointed in September. Mr. Rompuy and Baroness Ashton were chosen as the Permanent President of the European Council and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy respectively last week and the Lisbon treaty will enter into force on December 1st. In Tokyo, the Democratic Party of Japan, the DPJ, succeeded the Liberal Democratic Party, the LDP, which was in power for nearly half a century with some brief exceptions. The DPJ formed a new government in September. Dr. Yukio Hatoyama assumed office as prime minister.
Today, I would like to point out the important role which Japan and the EU can play in tackling the difficult challenges faced by today’s international community, which, it could be said, is one and the same as discussing the future of the world.
At the beginning of November, there was an EU-US Summit in Washington DC. On November 13th, American President Obama visited Japan and had a meeting with PM Hatoyama. In Tokyo, President Obama delivered a major comprehensive American foreign policy speech on Asia. He emphasized that the Japan-US alliance has endured as a foundation of security, peace and prosperity not only for the two nations but also for the entire Asia-Pacific region. At the summit meeting, PM Hatoyama stated his intention to strengthen Japan-US cooperation to address global challenges, and aim for a constructive and future-oriented bilateral alliance. As reconfirmed in the meeting, Japan and the U.S. have a strong relationship based on the historical ties of security arrangements as is the case for Europe and the U.S. Yet, when you look at the Japan-Europe relationship, you cannot help but feel that it could be so much more when compared with those transpacific and transatlantic relationships.
Japan and the EU are essential partners who share the same fundamental belief in principles such as democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the market economy. I think perhaps we had tended to consider Japan-EU relations only in a bilateral context, but now is the time for us to strengthen our relations in a global context in order to tackle a wide range of global challenges more effectively. For this purpose, we need an active engagement of specifying common challenges and deepening our mutual cooperation to meet them.
In September, at the U.N. General Assembly, PM Hatoyama announced five challenges that Japan intends to take on in serving as a “bridge” for the world, between the Orient and the West, between developed and developing countries and between diverse civilizations. I believe Japan and the EU have the capacity to deepen the cooperation on these challenges.
The first of these challenges is measures to respond to the global economic crisis. Large economies such as Japan and the EU have a responsibility to carry out measures to construct a stable economic and financial system which promotes sustainable development with more employment opportunities and is capable of averting similar crises in the future. Simultaneously, we need to reach an agreement at the WTO DDA negotiations next year and reject protectionist policies to achieve freer and fairer global trade.
The second challenge is climate change. We must pursue a low carbon society which realizes sustainable development in harmony with the environment. In September, at the U.N. Summit on Climate Change, PM Hatoyama promoted his pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, which is premised on agreement on ambitious targets by all the major economies. Japan and the EU, both at the forefront of environment and energy policy measures, have to lead international negotiations. By doing so we must establish an effective and practical international framework beyond 2012 for reducing global emissions at COP 15 in Copenhagen in which all major emitters including the U.S., China, and India can participate.
The third challenge is that of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. We must strive to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. President Obama proposed his vision for this goal in Prague in April. The U.N. Security Council Summit on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament was held in New York in September. Japan, as the only country which has suffered from atomic bombs in 1945, can be a “bridge” between “haves” and “have-nots”, and be a promoter of nuclear disarmament. In this field, Japan and the EU have to develop more action-oriented relations.
The fourth challenge is the issue of peace-building, development and poverty alleviation. We must pursue a society free from fear of war or terrorism. In this regard, on November 10th, Japan announced a new assistance package to Afghanistan and Pakistan including a maximum of $5 billion in assistance to Afghanistan over the next 5 years. In the Middle East, Japan and the EU can make best use of their resources and actively promote the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and humanitarian assistance.
We must do more for underdeveloped regions such as Africa where millions are suffering from poverty. At the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan, in 2008, our government emphasized the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and announced a doubling of its ODA to Africa over the next 5 years, as well as plans to assist in doubling both FDI from the Japanese private sector to Africa over the next 5 years and Africa’s rice production over the next 10 years. I am certain that Japan and the EU share many common goals for African development.
Another aspiration is to build an “East Asian Community”. It will be beneficial not only for Japan but also for the region and the international community to reduce the region’s security risks and share each others’ economic dynamism based on the principle of “open regionalism”. Japan will become a “bridge” among the Asian countries. Japan and the region can learn a lot from the deepening and widening process of the EU.
Besides those 5 challenges, I also would like to briefly touch upon the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. While the EU is running operation “Atalanta”, Japan is conducting escort operations with frigates and is conducting warning and surveillance activities by P-3C patrol aircraft. There were several cases where European cargo ships escaped from potential pirate attacks thanks to the information provided by Japan’s P-3C patrol aircraft. This type of cooperation between Japan and the EU may not be widely known, but this case shows us an excellent example of keeping trade routes safe and how both parties can cooperate in the field of security.
What I wish to stress most today is that there is much more potential for stronger Japan-EU relations which can contribute to better responses to global challenges. In order to extract that potential, we must try to find ways to enlarge our mutual interest and then translate them into concrete actions. It is my sincere hope that the discussion today provides an opportunity for all of us to reevaluate and recognize the value of strong Japan-EU ties."