United Nations

Economic and Social Council

E/CN.6/2022/NGO/129
Distr.: General
12 December 2021
Original: English

Commission on the Status of Women
Sixty-sixth session
14–25 March 2022
Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women andto the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly
entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development andpeace for the twenty-first century”

Statement submitted by YWCA of Japan, a non-governmentalorganization in consultative status with the Economic andSocial Council*
The Secretary-General has received the following statement, which is being
circulated in accordance with paragraphs 36 and 37 of Economic and Social Council
resolution 1996/31.

* The present statement is issued without formal editing.

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Statement
The YWCA of Japan, founded in 1905 and affiliated to the World Young
Women’s Christian Association since 1906, was granted special consultative status
with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2019. We submitted our firstever statement to the United Nations last year, and are very pleased to submit thesecond one here.
We, the YWCA of Japan, believe that every individual, especially women,should be guaranteed and fully exercise their civil rights, and the voice of young
women in particular should be heard and counted. We are engaged in activities suchas the empowerment of marginalized people, with the aim of promoting women’ssocial participation and realizing a peaceful world without violence, where humanrights, health and the environment are protected for all. We are trying to achieve thisthrough the empowerment of young women.
When we look at the global issue of climate crisis, we re cognize it as theinjustice between regions/nations, between generations and between genders. We
understand if global warming accelerates, more burden will be laid upon the shoulders
of women of economically marginalized nations/regions. More girls will ha ve to giveup schooling. More young women and girls will be subjected to human trafficking aswell as child marriage.
Acknowledging that the cause of global warming is mostly made by theindustrialized world, and the results are more heavily borne by tho se people who are
not making the cause, we strongly feel that we cannot evade our responsibility as
people of Japan.
As the following generations will face severe effects, we believe young people’svoices should be rightly heard and reflected when any de cision is made.
We, YWCA of Japan, believe in the importance of a human -rights centred
approach when we aim at decarbonization. We strongly oppose promoting nuclear
power generation as an alternative to fossil fuel. Throughout the entire process of
nuclear power generation, radiation exposure cannot be avoided right from theuranium mining, through decades of operation up till the closure of the power station,
meaning that this system is fundamentally premised on the existence of people whosuffer health effects. Exposure to radiation is especially hazardous to female
reproductive organs, making this also a sexual and reproductive health threat. Inaddition, the plan for the permanent disposal of radioactive waste is yet nowhere insight.
The YWCA of Japan has opposed nuclear power generation since 1970; we hadraised anti-nuclear power voice as a minority in our society, but after the accident atTokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, we feelthat the majority of the grassroots citizens now share our sentiment. Especially, many
women and young women have joined and led the movement calling for the abolitionof nuclear power plants; we have seen women bearing the role of caretakers andnurturers in their families and communities take action for the sake of safety ofchildren and future generations. It is vital for the society to listen to their voices.
In order to change the current structure where environmental destruction
associated to energy generation/consumption causes severe human rights violationand for the worldwide humanity to truly coexist, we should shift towards renewableenergy, as well as realizing that there is no power source that does not cause any
environmental pollution/destruction, therefore look for ways to break away from thecurrent level of mass energy consumption.

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In this climate, environmental and energy crisis, we inevitably and immediately
have to seek for better adaptation. YWCA of Japan has provided mid -long term
support both substantially and psychologically to those in post-disaster areas,
including areas affected by the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, as well as
the massive natural disaster in Kumamoto. Through such activities, we are convincedthat we could build back better by involving perspectives and participation of young
women in the processes. Empowering young women as active agent of change forenergy shift and better disaster prevention and recovery is critical in this sense.
It is critical to empower young women at the ordinary times so that they can be
active agents of change for energy shift and better disaster prevention and recovery
at the time of crisis.
We strongly hope these two things are taken up;• The channel and mechanism should be made in order to hear the voice of young
people, in particular young women. Young women should be guaranteed to havea say whenever a decision is made.
• Decarbonization should be achieved without nuclear power generation.
We appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement an d look forward toworking with the non-governmental organization community, the Commission on theStatus of Women, and the United Nations Economic and Social Council to advancethese critical issues.

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