1. United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)

2. World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in Tohoku

World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in Tohoku

Joint Endeavors for Solutions: Wisdom of the World to the Disaster-Affected Areas, Lessons of the Disaster- Affected Areas to the World

“The World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in Tohoku” was held on July 3rd and 4th. The plenary sessions were held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. Three breakout sessions were held in Ichinoseki City of Iwate Prefecture, Ishinomaki City of Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima City of Fukushima Prefecture. The Conference was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cabinet Office, Reconstruction Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and co-hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), United Nations Office for the Coordination for the Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Sendai City, Ichinoseki City, Ishinomaki City and Fukushima City. Representatives from 63 countries and 14 international organizations, as well as the representatives from international and domestic NGOs, the private sector and civil society participated in the Conference. In total, about 500 people participated in the conference. The participants from Japan include the following: Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan; Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, Minister for Reconstruction and Minister for Comprehensive Review of Measures in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake; Mr. Masaharu Nakagawa, Minister of State for Disaster Management. Minister Gemba, as the Chair of the Conference, issued the Chair’s Summary. A number of side events were also organized by the public and private sectors, academia and civil society.

The participants underscored the needs to mainstream disaster reduction and build resilient societies; to realize human security; to maximize capacity regarding disaster reduction through combining structural “hard” measures and “soft” measures such as education; and to forge partnership among various stakeholders, as well as and the importance of addressing emerging issues such as climate change and urbanization. The conference disseminated strong messages to the world regarding the need of “disaster reduction in the 21st century” which promotes above mentioned elements in a comprehensive way. The participants confirmed the need to incorporate disaster reduction in the post-2015 development framework and to establish the post-Hyogo Framework for Action based on the outcomes of this conference, in order to promote “disaster reduction in the 21st century”. Japan expressed its intention to host the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction, and its commitment to contributing three billion dollars for the next three years in Disaster Reduction.

Japan expressed its determination to continuously lead the international efforts for disaster reduction, and succeeded in building a foundation to mainstream disaster reduction, to disaster reduction in the Post-MDG framework, and to establish an effective post-Hyogo Framework for Action. Japan also had a strong appeal to the world regarding the reconstruction effort in the disaster-affected areas through carrying out site visits during the conference. Moreover, “the importance to make efforts for disaster reduction with full-cast” and “the mainstreaming disaster reduction” were put into practice by the participation of various actors including concerned government ministries, local governments and CSOs at the side events.

- Chair’s Summary

http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/environment/warm/cop/wmcdr_2012/chairs_summary.html

- Opening Remarks by Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan

http://kantei.go.jp/foreign/noda/statement/201207/03remarks_e.html

- Welcoming Remarks by Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan at Opening Ceremony

http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/environment/warm/cop/wmcdr_2012/fm_speech_1.html

- Closing Remarks by Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan at Closing Ceremony

http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/environment/warm/cop/wmcdr_2012/fm_speech_4.html