ID :
185050
Sat, 05/28/2011 - 17:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185050
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U.N. chief likely to visit quake-hit areas in Japan
NEW YORK (Kyodo) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is likely to visit Japan in early August with hopes of including quake-hit areas of the country's northeast in his itinerary, according to diplomatic and U.N. sources.
The U.N. chief would be staying for a ''couple of days'' although the details are still being worked out between the Japanese government and the United Nations, the sources have told Kyodo News.
In addition to trying to schedule meetings with Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan, as well as with the foreign minister and other high-ranking government officials in Tokyo, Ban aims to meet survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and local and regional representatives.
The double disaster killed more than 15,000 people, with around 8,500 still missing.
Ban initially hesitated to visit Japan shortly after the disaster due to concerns that his presence ''might interfere with the recovery efforts'' that were going on at the time. He opted instead to go at a later date, the sources said.
He is reportedly stopping off in Japan on the way to his home country South Korea, where he is scheduled to take a vacation.
Ban has launched a U.N. system-wide study of the Fukushima nuclear accident triggered by the disaster and called for a high-level meeting on nuclear safety and security to be held Sept. 22 after the new General Assembly session begins.
It is believed that the U.N. chief will take the opportunity while in the disaster-hit region to reiterate his commitment to better promoting international coordination to help countries minimize the impact of any such future nuclear accidents, learning valuable lessons from the Fukushima experience.
It is assumed that Ban will visit Fukushima Prefecture, where the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is located.
Last Saturday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visited the prefecture with Kan to show solidarity with the Japanese people on the sidelines of a two-day trilateral summit.
Wen and Lee visited as well nearby Miyagi Prefecture, which was also impacted by the disaster.
Ban visited Japan last August, when he made history as the first U.N. secretary general to attend a ceremony in Hiroshima to mark the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city. He also traveled to Nagasaki, the second city to be bombed in the closing days of World War II.
He met atomic-bomb survivors, called hibakusha, in both cities.
The U.N. chief would be staying for a ''couple of days'' although the details are still being worked out between the Japanese government and the United Nations, the sources have told Kyodo News.
In addition to trying to schedule meetings with Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan, as well as with the foreign minister and other high-ranking government officials in Tokyo, Ban aims to meet survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and local and regional representatives.
The double disaster killed more than 15,000 people, with around 8,500 still missing.
Ban initially hesitated to visit Japan shortly after the disaster due to concerns that his presence ''might interfere with the recovery efforts'' that were going on at the time. He opted instead to go at a later date, the sources said.
He is reportedly stopping off in Japan on the way to his home country South Korea, where he is scheduled to take a vacation.
Ban has launched a U.N. system-wide study of the Fukushima nuclear accident triggered by the disaster and called for a high-level meeting on nuclear safety and security to be held Sept. 22 after the new General Assembly session begins.
It is believed that the U.N. chief will take the opportunity while in the disaster-hit region to reiterate his commitment to better promoting international coordination to help countries minimize the impact of any such future nuclear accidents, learning valuable lessons from the Fukushima experience.
It is assumed that Ban will visit Fukushima Prefecture, where the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is located.
Last Saturday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visited the prefecture with Kan to show solidarity with the Japanese people on the sidelines of a two-day trilateral summit.
Wen and Lee visited as well nearby Miyagi Prefecture, which was also impacted by the disaster.
Ban visited Japan last August, when he made history as the first U.N. secretary general to attend a ceremony in Hiroshima to mark the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city. He also traveled to Nagasaki, the second city to be bombed in the closing days of World War II.
He met atomic-bomb survivors, called hibakusha, in both cities.
