▲ Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the UN General Assembly.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called for the prompt removal of the "enemy state clauses" from the UN Charter, which designate World War II defeated nations and allow military action by UN founding countries, during her UN General Assembly speech in New York on September 22 (local time).
According to outlets including the Nikkei, Prime Minister Takaichi, delivering her first UN General Assembly address since taking office, argued for the deletion of the UN Charter's enemy state clauses.
The enemy state clauses were provisions established by World War II victorious nations to prevent a recurrence of military provocation by defeated nations such as Germany and Japan, allowing military measures to be taken without authorization or a declaration of war by the UN Security Council (UNSC).
After Prime Minister Takaichi hinted at a potential "intervention in a Taiwan contingency" in November of last year, China used these clauses to assert the legitimacy of military countermeasures against Japan.
In response, Japan has maintained that these clauses have already become obsolete through UN General Assembly resolutions.
Alongside the removal of the enemy state clauses, Prime Minister Takaichi also advocated for UN Security Council reform.
Mentioning the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, she noted that the number of both permanent members—currently comprising five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China—and non-permanent members should be expanded.
Takaichi's demands for the removal of the enemy state clauses and the restructuring of the Security Council are interpreted as an effort to check China's growing influence in the international community amid a confrontational stance with Beijing, while strengthening Japan's international standing to pursue expanded defense capabilities.
In this context, Prime Minister Takaichi stated that "Japan has consistently contributed to peace and prosperity in the international community as a peaceful nation based on the principle of exclusively defense-oriented policy (exercising defense capabilities only when attacked by other countries)."
Considering it her country's mission to lead efforts toward a "world without nuclear weapons" as the sole nation to have suffered atomic bombings, she also asserted that efforts must be made to maintain and strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) framework, which involves both nuclear-armed and non-nuclear states.
In her speech, she also expressed concern over the proliferation of nuclear and missile technology stemming from military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
Prior to the speech, during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Takaichi emphasized the need to jointly respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile issues and reaffirmed U.S.-Japan resolve toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
Stating that she is "prepared for dialogue and concrete action" to resolve the issue of Japanese abductions by North Korea, she once again proposed a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Prime Minister Takaichi stated that Japan consistently supports international courts such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) based on the rule of law, though she did not mention sanctions by the Trump administration.
With an eye on China, Prime Minister Takaichi proposed international cooperation to enhance capabilities to cope with supply cutoffs of critical minerals, while also proposing that Japan host an "AI Summit" at an early date to address the risks of high-performance artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of her attendance at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Takaichi held her first bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since taking office, which lasted about 20 minutes.
Regarding Russia's invasion, she stated, "We will work together with the international community to support Ukraine and enforce sanctions against Russia."
According to Kyodo News, President Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for Japan's support, noting that sanctions are exerting firm pressure on Russia, and requested the participation of Japanese companies in post-war reconstruction.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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