Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > March, 2005

The United Nations Youth Ambassadors Pay Courtesy Call on the Prime Minister Monday, March 28, 2005 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a courtesy call from the United Nations Youth Ambassadors at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. These Youth Ambassadors were selected from young volunteers nationwide who participated in the "No! Absolutely No!" Fundraising Campaign for the United Nations that was held for the purpose of supporting activities to prevent drug abuse in developing countries. Abuse of drugs such as narcotics and stimulants have spread globally and there are great concerns especially with the increase of drug abuse among the youths who will take on the next generation. This time, six upper secondary school students were designated as the Young Civic Ambassadors to be dispatched to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOCD) in Vienna to deliver the contribution. On behalf of the Youth Ambassadors, Yukiko Sugiyama, a third-year student at Tsuyama Higashi Senior High School expressed her ambition by saying, "Taking this opportunity, I would like to learn about the activities of the United Nations for drug abuse prevention by making close observations. Through our visits to drug laboratories to learn about their training sessions and the Anton Proksch Institute as well as interactions with high school students in Vienna, we would like to obtain both global experience and knowledge and use them for our future activities in Japan." Prime Minister Koizumi, who is the head of the Headquarters for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Drug Abuse, gave his words of encouragement by saying, "I hope you all will take advantage of the opportunities available to you and obtain invaluable experiences."