Prime Minister Naoto Kan attended the opening ceremony of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Follow-up Meeting held in Tokyo.

The MDGs Follow-up Meeting is an international conference which Prime Minister Kan had proposed to host in Japan during the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (the MDGs Summit) held in September 2010 in New York, and is co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Prime Minister said in his opening remarks, "At this Follow-up Meeting I understand that you will have detailed discussions on the progress made particularly in the field of health and education and on concrete measures to be taken for achieving the goals. I strongly hope that you will make the most of this opportunity to focus international efforts on the period remaining before 2015 and to make significant contributions to attaining the MDGs.
As I stated earlier, the people of Japan experienced the cordial "bonds" (kizuna) with the international community. This has made Japan all the more determined to act with the rest of the world and contribute to the achievement of the MDGs.
At the same time, the achievement of the MDGs will become possible only when the international community works together. Thus, I call for concerted efforts by all of you here -- various partners from developing, developed, and emerging countries, international organizations, civil society and the private sector."