ID :
209192
Sat, 09/24/2011 - 19:04
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https://oananews.org//node/209192
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Noda vows Japan will make active contribution to int'l community
NEW YORK, Sept. 23 Kyodo - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Friday that the country, still struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake and tsunami six months ago, will repay the rest of the world for all the help it has received, promising to be even more active in contributing to the making of a brighter future.
In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Noda, who took office three weeks ago, expressed gratitude for the considerable support Japan has received from all over the world since the disaster struck its northeastern region on March 11.
''These bonds between Japan and the international community will be forever remembered by the Japanese,'' he said. ''Japan will recover from the earthquake disaster and seek a peaceful, safe and brighter future side by side with the leaders gathered here.''
Noda unveiled several new commitments to international cooperation.
He said Japan will ''extend wherever possible support for the nation-building efforts in South Sudan as well as for the consolidation of peace in the region.''
The 54-year-old premier said his government is considering dispatching an engineering unit of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in response to a U.N. request.
Among other issues, he touched on the transition to democracy in the Middle East and North Africa, known as the ''Arab Spring,'' and said Japan is ready to offer additional yen loans worth about $1 billion for infrastructure projects to generate jobs and industries.
Japan will continue to support developing countries through official development assistance programs, he said, noting that it ''understands very well from its own experience that the engine of economic growth is a strong middle class.''
Noda said he believes the strength of the Japanese people is most evident in times of crisis, as was the case after the March disaster.
''I am certain that such resilience, both human and technological, which does not yield in the face of enormous difficulties, will be the very source of Japan's future contribution to the international community,'' he said.
Noda said he keenly feels that it is imperative to enhance global cooperation in disaster risk reduction. To that end, he said Japan has decided to host an international conference next year in the affected northeastern region.
Noda informed the international community of the host of challenges facing Japan, but at the same time underscored that signs of recovery have been emerging in the disaster-stricken northeastern region and that daily life in other parts of the country has almost returned to normal.
He also said Japan is making ''steady progress'' in bringing the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant under control.
Noda, who was previously finance minister, said achieving fiscal health and sustainable economic growth is ''the most crucial challenge'' for Japan and many other industrial countries.
He promised that Japan will work hard to curb its ballooning debt, currently twice the size of gross domestic product, while recognizing that the revival of the world's third-largest economy is vital for the future prosperity of other countries.
Noda, Japan's sixth prime minister in five years, said his government wants to form closer economic ties with many countries and reiterated that trade activities should not be hampered by ''excessive currency volatility.''
His reference to currency issues came as the yen is sitting near postwar record highs, putting the export-oriented economy's recovery following the disaster at risk.
In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Noda, who took office three weeks ago, expressed gratitude for the considerable support Japan has received from all over the world since the disaster struck its northeastern region on March 11.
''These bonds between Japan and the international community will be forever remembered by the Japanese,'' he said. ''Japan will recover from the earthquake disaster and seek a peaceful, safe and brighter future side by side with the leaders gathered here.''
Noda unveiled several new commitments to international cooperation.
He said Japan will ''extend wherever possible support for the nation-building efforts in South Sudan as well as for the consolidation of peace in the region.''
The 54-year-old premier said his government is considering dispatching an engineering unit of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in response to a U.N. request.
Among other issues, he touched on the transition to democracy in the Middle East and North Africa, known as the ''Arab Spring,'' and said Japan is ready to offer additional yen loans worth about $1 billion for infrastructure projects to generate jobs and industries.
Japan will continue to support developing countries through official development assistance programs, he said, noting that it ''understands very well from its own experience that the engine of economic growth is a strong middle class.''
Noda said he believes the strength of the Japanese people is most evident in times of crisis, as was the case after the March disaster.
''I am certain that such resilience, both human and technological, which does not yield in the face of enormous difficulties, will be the very source of Japan's future contribution to the international community,'' he said.
Noda said he keenly feels that it is imperative to enhance global cooperation in disaster risk reduction. To that end, he said Japan has decided to host an international conference next year in the affected northeastern region.
Noda informed the international community of the host of challenges facing Japan, but at the same time underscored that signs of recovery have been emerging in the disaster-stricken northeastern region and that daily life in other parts of the country has almost returned to normal.
He also said Japan is making ''steady progress'' in bringing the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant under control.
Noda, who was previously finance minister, said achieving fiscal health and sustainable economic growth is ''the most crucial challenge'' for Japan and many other industrial countries.
He promised that Japan will work hard to curb its ballooning debt, currently twice the size of gross domestic product, while recognizing that the revival of the world's third-largest economy is vital for the future prosperity of other countries.
Noda, Japan's sixth prime minister in five years, said his government wants to form closer economic ties with many countries and reiterated that trade activities should not be hampered by ''excessive currency volatility.''
His reference to currency issues came as the yen is sitting near postwar record highs, putting the export-oriented economy's recovery following the disaster at risk.
