Japan urges ‘vital’ UN reforms as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens rules-based order

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida tells UN General Assembly there is an urgent need to re-examine group’s principles and restore credibility after attack on Ukraine

Tokyo wants UN to represent more nations but five permanent members of Security Council unlikely to give up their veto powers easily, analysts say

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 5:30pm, 21 Sep 2022Updated: 5:44pm, 21 Sep 2022

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida put reform of the United Nations and the need for member states to adhere to the existing rules-based international order at the centre of his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the growing possibility of clashes much closer to Japan adding new urgency to Tokyo’s position.

In his address, Kishida said it was “vital” to reform the UN to restore credibility that had been shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow is one of five permanent members of the Security Council and thereby armed with a veto that effectively limits the international response.

The attack on Ukraine damaged “the foundations of the international order”, he said, adding there was an urgent need to re-examine UN principles and “gather our power and wisdom to ensure the rules-based international order”.

Kishida’s comments echoed those of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who earlier on Tuesday warned the world was “in peril” as a result of “colossal global dysfunction” that threatened efforts to tackle the pressing issues of climate change and food crisis.

Successive Japanese administrations have over the past two decades been calling for changes to the UN – and particularly the Security Council. Tokyo’s chief complaint is that the five nations that presently make up the Security Council and have the ability to veto all UN actions are no longer representative of the world, 77 years after the organisation was set up.

The council is effectively made up of the victorious nations of World War II and its composition today does not reflect the dramatic economic growth of countries such as Japan or Germany or the huge population centres of Nigeria, India or Indonesia, Tokyo says.

A billboard depicting a soldier with the slogan ‘Glory to the Heroes of Russia’ stands in St. Petersburg, Russia on September 20, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japan would like a permanent seat on an enlarged Security Council, but in the meantime has secured one of the non-permanent seats on the broader 15-nation council for a 12th term, with that two-year role to begin in January.