VOL. 1, No. 9

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

THE

NMUN KOBE TIMES
Kobe City University of Foreign Studies

NMUN Japan Kicks Off in KobeFirst Sessions Held to Set Agenda Order

Delegates meet in the opening ceremony for NMUN in Kobe
Some 350 delegates from around theworld gathered on Wednesday to mark theopening of the National Model United Nations(NMUN) at Kobe City University of ForeignStudies (KCUFS). Over the course of the four-day
conference, delegates are expected to display thefruits of the labor that they have been engaged
in through months of hard preparation.
The first day started with a UNForum―Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR), which was followed by the openingceremony. DRR is a key theme for theconference because Kobe has taken a global
leadership role in its area after being struck by amassive earthquake―the Great Hanshin

Earthquake in 1995. Speakers in the lectures
explained the importance of reducing disasterrisk from different viewpoints. The day ended
with the first sessions of the four committees—
General Assembly (GA)), Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC), High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and Security Council (SC)—in which the agenda order was set.
The UN Forum was preceded by opening
remarks by Kaoru Nemoto, Director of the UN
Information Centre (UNIC) in Tokyo. In herspeech on “The 60-Year Relationship between
the United Nations and Japan,” Nemoto lookedback on the 60-year-history of Japan and UN.
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Since its accession to the UN in 1956, Japan has taken an activerole in the field of peace and security, and especially has been
instrumental for disarmament, humanitarian beliefs and economic
development. Japan first became a non-permanent member of the SCin 1958.
Nemoto said there is no doubt that preparing for disaster andreducing future levels of risk from disasters would lead tosustainable development of societies. As a country that has suffereddreadful disasters, Japan can be a good example of disasterprevention, she said.
Recent changes in weather patterns are amplified by theeffect of climate change. To raise the awareness of the need toprepare for disasters, GA in December 2015 designated Nov. 5 as
the World Tsunami Awareness Day. On the day in 1854, when an
earthquake struck in Wakayama, a village leader knew he needed a way
to get his villagers to run for high ground before a tsunami would strike. When he set fire to
the rice stacks, the villagers came running to put the fire out, which saved the lives. She noted that theworld continues to face earthquakes/tsunami disasters and must work hard to meet the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indicating the audience she said, “You are at the central ofchange in society.”
The following panel discussion with three panelists was moderated by Yuki Matsuoka fromthe United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction(UNISDR). She expressed her delight to have thispanel discussion on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) especially here in Japan because Japan has thelong history of fighting with natural hazards like earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. By inviting
three panelists, she thought we could hear a lot of ideas from different perspectives. This panel
summarized how DRR has progressed over the last 20years from bothJapanese and global perspectives. Her presentation
included statistics like 4.4 billion people affected and$2 trillion in economic damage in the world during
1992-2012, which show how big the impact of naturalhazards has been. This is especially true for the AsiaPacific region, which is often exposed to weather
related hazards.
In order to reduce disaster risks, she strongly
recommended the reduction of society’svulnerability because we can’t stop natural hazard
but can minimize impacts by natural hazard byaddressing our vulnerability. Also, she introduced the Sendai Frameworkfor DRR which was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on DRR in 2015. The Framework
serves as the central piece for global efforts on DRR until 2030.
This Framework specifies four priorities for action: 1) understanding disaster risk, 2)
strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk, 3) investing in DRR for resilience,and 4) enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery,rehabilitation and reconstruction. With this framework, she suggested that Japan should continue tolead the world in disaster risk reduction and share its expertise all over the world.
Yoshiaki Kawata, a professor at Kansai University and executive director of the Disaster
Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI), introduced some examples of innovative
activities of the Disaster Risk Alliance (DRA), Kobe. DRA is a loose alliance that exerts a synergic
effect in the promotion of international cooperation towards disaster reduction. It consists of morethan 20 organizations such as JICA.
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DRA is expected to play an important role inproviding citizens with information and knowledge, which
will contribute to disaster reduction worldwide. Large
scale disasters, both natural and man-made, occur
frequently in developed and developing countries aroundthe world with ever widening diversity and complexity.
There are many kinds of disaster museums in theworld to transmit disaster stories from generation togeneration, and DRI in Kobe also falls into that category.
People tend to easily forget and misunderstand, so thosemuseums play an important role. Japan has alreadyexperienced a number of huge disasters. Moreover, alarge earthquake, called the Nankai Trough is expected in the next30
years with a 70 percent certainty. It is estimated to have the potential to kill 320,000
people and produce a grave economic crisis. After the 3.11 earthquake in Tohoku in 2011 DRI
proposed that the government strive to make a resilient society.
Kimio Takaya, distinguished technical advisor to the President, Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA), talked about the importance of enhancing the DRR capacities of developing countries.
He also shared his reflections on the Sendai Framework.
He explained the deflation spiral―poverty,vulnerabilities and disaster. Usually poor people livein vulnerable areas because land is cheap and, evenwhen it is illegal, and therefore they are prone todamage, from serious disasters, and loss of property.
As a result, they may move to even more vulnerable
areas. So, many developing countries cannot escapefrom this deflation spiral.
This is the focus of DRR. Though every country
tries to develop, normal development can beinterpreted by a disaster, setting development backagain and again. Then, he explained the necessity to fill thegap between normal development with no setbacks from disaster, and unescapable
natural disasters. He stressed the importance of convincing political leaders to see DRR as aninvestment in interrupted development.
According to a report from the United Kingdom, most of donors’ support is mainly concentrated on
recovery after a disaster even though the cost of preventing disaster is much cheaper. He noted thatJapan mainly supports the Hyogo Framework, which
advocates spending money to reduce disaster risks (DR).
In 2015, the Sendai Framework was set including
DRR, and this took the place of the Hyogo Framework.
There are seven targets. He mentioned “…together withdeveloping countries and together with developedcountries, we must do it.”
Sandra Wu Wen-Hsiu, chairperson and CEO,Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Co-founder and Director
Japan Asia Group Ltd., talked about the private sector inJapan. She is also the Chair of the private sector advisory
working group, UNISDR Asia and the Pacific Regional Office.
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(Continued from third page)The private sector has long been living through national
disasters, so all of them know how to make themselves resilient.
To overcome disasters which suddenly happen, they have built abusiness plan for disasters. After 3.11, Japan’s greatest
earthquake, the private sector was able to rebuild the lifeline forthe community and renew the supply chain. To reduce disaster
risk, they play a significant role because they offer a lot ofsolutions and services to address all of the challenges. She also
told the delegates even if they work in the public sector, they arepart of society and therefore, it is important to understand theimportance of the private sector for DRR because they will be theleaders of the global world. “I am very honored to be called an ambassador. Personally, I benefit morethan I contribute. I change myself and I also change my company and I hope today, I can also influence
you to change yourself and we can change the world together.”
The opening ceremony took place in theafternoon. In his welcome speech, Michael Eaton,
Executive Director of the National Collegiate
Conference Association (NCCA), a US-based non-profit
organization that runs the NMUN, explained that overthe next four days, 320 students from 35 different
universities in 12 different countries will beaddressing global issues in four committees.
Kizo Hisamoto, the 16th mayor of Kobe city,
talked about the history of Kobe. In 1945, Kobe wasdestroyed by bombs, then in 1995, the Great Hanshin
Earthquake hit the city. In spite of losing 4,571 people
as a result of the earthquake, the city has been restored and rebuilt. It currently has 45,000 foreign
residents from 113 countries, he said.
Sachiho Tani, Secretary General of this NMUN and a senior of KCUFS’s International Relations
Department, extended her warmest welcome to all and commented, “I still cannot believe that this day
is really happening.” She also felt really emotional because of the efforts of nearly 300 student
volunteers and general support from many directions. She said everyone was aiming to prepare “thebest possible NMUN event.”“NMUN is not only an opportunity for college students to acquire skills, knowledge and criticalthinking,” she said, “it is the opportunity to overcome differences and achieve mutual understanding.”
Even more importantly, it enables the development of leadership in ourgeneration. She also feels grateful to be able to celebrate the 70th
anniversary of her university in the same year as Japan celebrates its
60th year as a member of the United Nations, a point President Chuta
Funayama also noted. The KCUFS president expressed his hope that
NMUN would provide an excellent opportunity to practice negotiation
skills and gain cross-cultural confidence. He also wanted delegates tobuild international networks and friends for the next generation
Ms. Nemoto brought a message from Mrs. Sadako Ogata about
how much the United Nations values Model United Nations activities.
It is an ideal platform to broaden one’s views and perspectives toenhance mutual understanding. Finally, the Director of the UN
Information Centre of Tokyo concluded her speech with anotherquotation from Mrs. Ogata. “Think globally, act locally; local actions
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Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa, who was
the representative of Japan at the United Nations until
this June, reviewed the past 60 years of therelationship between Japan and the UN. He statedthat Japan’s role in World War II was a big mistake.
In 1956, Japan was permitted to join the UN and thiswas joyful. After joining the United Nations, Japan
contributed to three main areas of the organization;
namely, international security, development, andhuman rights. In 1970, Japan became the second largest
economy in the world after the United States and became the second largest
contributor to the budget of the United Nations. In the 1990s, Japan became the largest provider ofglobal development assistance.
At the moment, Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. Meanwhile, the country isfacing problems as an aging society; this impacts economy and finance since 27 percent ofJapanese are above 65 years of age, he said. Another concern is the slow increase in women's
participation in economic activities and politics. Japan's world ranking in gender gap for this year
is 111, out of 144 countries. Our gender gap is still very large compared to not only Europe but also
in many countries in the Asia Pacific region. In addition, he has other concerns about the growing
income gap in Japan. According to OECD, the income gap
has widened in most of the OECD countries including
Japan.
There is evidence here in Japan that it has become
more difficult for low-income families to send children touniversities because of the high cost of education,
Yoshikawa said. Also, government and businesses areconscious of the decreasing number of Japanesechoosing to study abroad and view this decline as aproblem. Prime Minister Abe's government wants todouble the number of students who go abroad from60,000 in 2010 to120,000 by 2020. Many companies try to give
scholarships for those who want to go abroad.
To conclude, Japan's post-war history, the activities of UN, and Japan's future has someconcerns. Understanding other cultures and mutual respect are the keys to peace and prosperity.
In conclusion, he hoped all the participants would have a fruitful discussion and enjoy Kobe andJapan.
The first committee sessions were held after the opening ceremony, where the agenda
order was set in each committee, in a way to prioritize the following agenda.
GA
Agenda I
The elimination of weapons of mass destruction
UNCHR
Agenda I
Protecting children in crisis and conflict
SC
Agenda I
The situation in North Korea
ECOSOCAgenda II
Building a resilient world through DRR

Staff Writer for Vol.1 No.9
Nanami Takano Takahiro Kamo Yuzuri Funabashi Sae Oishi Hiroka Abe
Hiroko Shiotani Honoka Morita Ayami Tomae Ryo Ueno
Tomomi Yamazaki Shione Shiraishi

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