News

On June 2, JICA President TANAKA Akihiko and Special Advisor to the President (former President) KITAOKA Shinichi met with MIZUTORI Mami, the Special Representative of the United Nations Security-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) at JICA Headquarters.

At the start of the meeting, President Tanaka expressed his congratulations for the success of the seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction*, which UNDRR organized in Indonesia from May 23 to 28. He also expressed his gratitude for the efforts of UNDRR in heightening the importance of disaster risk reduction (DRR) awareness in countries throughout the world, and the steady results they have achieved, particularly at a time when various threats, including that of climate change, are growing.

In response, SRSG Mizutori noted Japan’s status as a world leader in DRR, and expressed her gratitude for JICA’s contribution to the advancement of DRR measures based on Japan’s own experiences. She also stated the UNDRR’s wish to deepen the collaboration between the two organizations, in order to accelerate the implementation of DRR measures in various countries by 2030.

In addition, there were discussions regarding the dissemination of impacts of JICA DRR projects in various countries on a global scale by UNDRR, and the issues of DRR challenges in island states in the Pacific Ocean and other areas, even as these states’ economic circumstances continue to improve.

Following this, Special Advisor Kitaoka and SRSG Mizutori discussed that DRR could be the main pillar of the concept of the “Western Pacific Union,” which has been proposed by Special Advisor Kitaoka. They also discussed the importance of mutual cooperation and the deepening of relationships amongst the countries in the western pacific region, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam, as well as Japan’s role in the international arena including the United Nations.

*A biannual meeting of international institutions and DRR-related institutions of various countries to report on and discuss progress monitoring for the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030”. It was attended by over 7,000 people (approximately 3,200 in person) from 185 countries.