Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received a courtesy call from H.E. Ms. Helen Clark, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, at the United Nations University (UNU) headquarters.
Following that, the Prime Minister attended the global launch of the Human Development Report 2014 published by the UNDP. The Prime Minister said in his address,
“Today I am honored to be able to hold the global launch of the UNDP Human Development Report 2014 in Japan.
The theme of this report is ‘Building Resilience.’
Japan is determined to cooperate with international organizations, including the UNDP, and the international community, to proactively contribute to building a resilient society.
Natural disasters and conflicts could destroy human lives and the outcomes of many years of development in an instant. Building a society resistant to disasters and conflicts requires a concept of human security that views each and every human being as important and seeks to protect human beings and strengthen their capabilities.
The concept of human security was first advocated in the Human Development Report 1994. Based on that concept, Japan has been cooperating on society building and nation building through the protection of vulnerable people and by strengthening the capabilities of individuals and communities.
The deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is fast approaching in 2015. Debate on the post-2015 development agenda and how to move development forward from the MDGs is actively underway in the international community.
We must expedite efforts toward achieving the MDGs. Additionally, in the post-2015 development agenda, human security must be made a guiding concept, and achieving an inclusive, sustainable and resilient society must be pursued.
Disaster reduction in particular is essential to building a resilient society. Natural disasters destroy precious human lives in an instant, cause massive economic losses, and have a serious impact on people’s livelihoods.
In order also to repay the warm support and encouragement we received from around the world at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan will coordinate with the UNDP, which has a pre-eminent track record in the area of disaster reduction, and exercise leadership in this field.
Japan will host the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai in March next year. We intend to share Japan’s disaster reduction experiences and lessons, and disaster reduction technologies and systems, with the world.
Additionally, we will also pick up the pace of reconstruction so that we are able to showcase as a global model, the reconstruction of Tohoku, which is moving toward the future as a 'region of creativity and potential.'
Distinguished participants, the empowerment of women is essential for creating a vibrant society overall and for growth. 　
I am proactively engaging in the empowerment of women in order to create a society in which all women shine, not only in Japan, but worldwide.
In September this year the International Symposium on Creating a Society in which Women Shine will be held in Japan. The Government of Japan will cooperate more closely with the international community, including civil society, as well as international organizations such as the UNDP, and will exercise international leadership in this endeavor.
Lastly, in formulating this Human Development Report, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Akihiko Tanaka offered his cooperation as a member of the advisory panel.
I would like to end my address by once again expressing the determination to make maximum use of the knowledge and technologies Japan possesses and lead the international community’s efforts in building resilient societies.”