Japan will use its place on the United Nations Security Council to push for an African seat on the top world body, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.
“Japan reiterates its determination to redress the historical injustice against Africa of not being represented through a permanent membership on the Security Council,” Kishida told the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunis.
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“In order for the UN to work effectively for peace and stability there is an urgent need to strengthen the UN as a whole through Security Council reform,” he said.
The UN faces “a moment of truth,” he added.
Japan was among five countries elected in June to hold a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2023 and 2024.
Kishida, speaking over live video from Tokyo after testing positive for COVID-19 days earlier, reiterated a pledge announced on Saturday to invest some $30 billion in Africa over the next three years.
He also announced that Japan would appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa, where a long drought has prompted the UN’s weather agency to warn this week of an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”