VOL. 1, No. 11

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

THE

NMUN KOBE TIMES
Kobe City University of Foreign Studies

All Committee are Reaching
the Final Stage of the Conference

The third day of National Model United
Nations (NMUN) was held at the Kobe
Conference Center. In the four committees―theGeneral Assembly (GA), the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), theSecurity Council (SC) and Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC)―discussions matured
through two sessions. November 25 is theInternational Day for the Elimination ofViolence Against Women, and begins 16 days ofactivism against gender violence. The campaign
is called, “Orange Your Neighborhood.” Theorange color is a symbol of a better future withno violations of human rights. Badges for theday were provided to the delegates, whodisplayed their raised consciousness of justice.
How to achieve disarmamentin the General Assembly (GA)Eight working papers (WP) weresuccessfully submitted yesterday, and today thedelegates continued to improve their WP as
they progress towards DR.
In a formal Session, Lebanon referred to a

Hiroshima survivor and read aloud from theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, Article1
which states; All human beings are born free andequal in dignity and rights. Referencing Article1,
she insisted that the delegates could work
together and recommended that the working
groups (WGs) were collaborating during thisConference. The delegates continued to convey
their policies more and more meaningfully
through the referencing and researching ofvarious kinds of information.
In the afternoon, a WG, consisting ofAfghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran among
other countries, worked to reach a consensus
on the idea of a Weapons of Mass Destruction(WMDs) Free Zone in the Middle East. The
Republic of Congo also stressed the necessity of
preventing the use of all of WMDs, not only
nuclear weapons but also chemical and,biological weapons. The P-5 countries―China,Russia, France, the United Kingdom and theUnited States―worked on a nuclear weapons
Non-Proliferations Treaty (NPT) with manyother countries. (Continues to the next page)VOL. 1, NO. 1１

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

(Continued from Page 1)
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
The fifth session of the UNHCR began without two countries, Italy and Pakistan being absent,
thus a total of 51 member states were present.
In formal debate, many delegates made speeches aboutchild refugees. China stated that, “Every child refugees
should have a guardian they can depend on and trust.”
Switzerland worked with many European countries tocreate a comprehensive and sustainable plan to solve manyof issues that child refugees and their families face”. At theend of the session, Argentina gave an inspiring message toother delegates that, “No opinion, no idea is better thananother, so it is important for us all to converse with one
another. We can make our society a better place and create
better draft resolutions.”
At the beginning of the afternoon session, WPs which had been previously submitted werereturned to their groups. Delegates continued to try to reach consensus for their WP.
Australia explained the content of two WPs; the first, about providing refugees with safe
spaces and the second, about providing refugees with mental health care. Australia stated, “They canovercome their trauma through our policies.” Other WGs highlighted different topics. For example,Congo, Israel, and Peru spoke out that, “Residence is the key point to solve the problem of refugees.”
Delegates struggled to find compromises between other delegates, as the meetings continued to thefinal day.
Successfully voting procedure carried out in the Security Council (SC)There had been four WGs for DR1 which included one unfriendly amendment and threefriendly amendments in the operative clauses. In the second formal debate, Malaysia expressed its
concern about the DR1/1, while Russia encouraged the country to propose a friendly amendment tothe resolution. Uruguay also raised concerns voiced by Russia during the previous evening’s session
and emphasized that DR1 represented a very important aspect of the work in this council. In thefourth formal debate, Russia stated that the country regarded DR 1/1 positively and that new
language which replaced restrictions on NGOs with regard to trading with the DPRK’s nuclear
programs specifically. Moreover, Russia tried to remove the excessively harsh language in clause 8
which would damage the economy of the DPRK. During thissession, Japan ended its speech with by saying, “Goseicho
Arigato Gozaimasu,” which means, “Thank you for listening,” inJapanese. As some delegates advocated the need to close thespeakers’ list, the session moved forward to vote for DR.
In the sixth session of the SC, Venezuela made the firstspeech, followed by Malaysia and the UK. There were two
unfriendly operative clauses in DR1/1 which regards thesituation of North Korea. Two speakers, both for and against
the operative clauses, made speeches. Then it was put to avote. One (DR1/1/1) passed and so was removed from the DRand the other (DR1/1/2) failed and so remained. Then DR1/1 went to the roll callvote by a motion from Russia. Eventually, it failed since the permanent members of the UN Security
Council, China and Russia voted “no” or “opposed.”
Then DR1/2 was adopted by acclamation and became Resolution1/1. Next, DR1/3 wasopposed to acclamation and therefore was adopted by placard vote to be Resolution1/2. Since
DR1/4 had already been withdrawn, DR1/5 was adopted with no opposition by acclamation. A2

VOL. 1, NO. 1１

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

(Continued from Page 2)
Three Days of Hard Work Produce Possible DR in Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Delegates submitted four WPs yesterday―the first is urban infrastructure development andclimate change; the second about information and communication technology; the third about
education and gender equality; the fourth about Assistant Communication Technology Training(ACTT)―to the Dais and received feedback. Next, they must complete and submit a DR as voting will
begin in the next session.
In formal speech, the Republic of Moldova seemed to be proud of their WP, announcing they
had reached broad consensus, “We are focusing on how to get funds and extra support for theeconomy, but we should consider how to develop our own economy, too. To do so, we need to build
partnerships between developed and developing countries.” On the other hand, the US insisted, “Weshould tackle expanding the Sendai Framework on various issues, such as storms, floods and so on.” He
added, “We cannot easily agree, but it is necessary.”
After lunch, Session VI, in which delegates had thelast chance to add their own ideas to the WPs, began.
Panama worked on a WP concerned with educationand gender equality. They mentioned that weaker people
such as women, people with disabilities and indigenous
people have always have been the primary victims ofnatural disasters. By providing technical knowledge on
natural disasters, it is possible to stop worsening of theirliving conditions.
At the end of the session, Democratic Republic of
the Congo announced their DR had been successfullysubmitted.
Local People Greet NMUN for the First Time
During the NMUN convention, a student organizing committee created a guided tour
for local residents and Gaidai students. The participants in the tour could register online,and three students from KCUFS, one student from Hyogo Medical University, and one native
English speaking individual who teaches English at KCUFS and Kobe Gakuin University
student, and one lady whose husband works for the NMUN gathered to get a glimpse of thenew international event for the first time. Takashi Ito of KCUFS who is studying Spanish, said
he seldom speaks with native English speakers, thus this is an amazing opportunity for himto talk with so many foreigners.
Chikara Watanabe, who came with Ito was surprised by what he witnessed. He had animage of people in the actual UN, sitting at tables quietly and nervously; however, he saw somany delegates caucusing with others sitting on the floor casually. Nanako Kio of KCUFS’
English Studies Department applied for the tour because she was a student volunteer for thecultural visit to Kyoto. She was interested in watching the MUN event, and wanted to know
more to have a better understanding of global affairs when she works as a volunteer.
On the contrary, Prof. Anthony C Torbert, has already worked for JUEMUN several
times so he knows how it works, but he never saw an NMUN before. He pointed out a few
differences between JUEMUN and NMUN such as that the average age of the participants isolder in NMUN. He found it interesting that both conferences have their own advantage.
There was one student from Hyogo Medical University named Emi Furuyama, andlocal resident named Hitomi Iwasa. Both had a family member which had access to theNMUN such as a KCUFS student or an NMUN worker, so that they wanted to see what theyare actually doing. Iwasa said that it is hard for the locals to find information about theNMUN unless they are already aware of it, or one was a KCUFS student so that it is great thatc the university offered such NMUN tour.

3VOL. 1, NO. 1１

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

Interview
A delegateDescribes the Story of her Struggle
Susan Stuart made a speech during formal debate in a GA Session asa representative of Lebanon. She comes from Long Island UniversityBrooklyn Campus, and thus it was a long trip to get to Kobe. She has
mostly been spending her time on research about WMDs. In her speech,
she cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article1, because
she wanted to criticize that the NPT encouraged other countries to have
WMD. Speaking as Lebanon, she stated, “we can all work together.” Inaddition, she said that she is enjoying her stay in Japan. However, she felt
sad when visiting Hiroshima and understood the events of August 1945,
during the Cultural Tours and Site Visits.
(Ayami Tomae)
Spending meaningful time in Japan
Kristine Kivle, from Norway attends Hawaii Pacific University, is representing Malaysia in theSecurity Council. She expressed how delighted she was to be a part of the SC and to meet many newpeople. Also, she was happy to participate in this conference andespecially to be here in Japan, as she is interested in the culture.
She experienced working in the GA before in NY and thinks thatrepresenting in the SC is important to understand how the UN
works in real life. Through this conference, she aims to work
cooperatively with other nations in the SC. As she has interest inJapan, she was excited to join the tour of Hiroshima. “It’s a reallymemorable experience to go there and I learned a lot. It wasgreat to see the culture.” She also expressed her appreciation
tothe volunteers who helped during the Cultural Visits.
(Honoka Morita)
Teaching students what it means to live in a global community
Mariam Bojang, emphasized that the most important thing during the NMUN isdiplomacy. She studies political science at the University of Texas at Tylor as a Masters student. She
also trained and supported delegates from the same university as the head delegate of the Russianfederation. Mariam talked about the essentials of NMUN andinternational society. “What bring us here is to be One,” she said. TheUN is about compromise, not fisting muscles or showing power. She
thinks that each delegate must think about the reality living in aglobal community. For example, although the United States appears
to be a large, independent country, most of its products are made in
China. She expects students not to be competitive because allcountries are dependent upon each other and none should beprioritized during diplomacy or while cooperating with each otherto reach compromise. She also found so many differences betweenher own culture and Japanese culture, especially in fashion. Having
a West African background and living in the United States, she feels thatthe fashion in Japan is completely different and unique. “Everything is completely newto me. I am enjoying the cultural differences, and now I have to try the Sushi!” She laughs.
(Yuzuri Funabashi)
In the evening on Friday, 33 faculty members from participating universities joined a Jazz
Night event at Sone, which is a famous jazz club on Kitanozaka in Sannomiya, and enjoyed aselection of Frank Sinatra’s hits which have become global jazz standards.
4

VOL. 1, NO. 1１

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

To get Involved in International Society
Enrico Mantovani from Italy, is energetically challenging the NMUNfor the first time. He is representing the Republic of Congo at thecommittee of General Assembly(GA). Even though he went throughseveral conferences of Models of the Italian parliament and theEuropean Commission, this is his first time to participate in the NMUN
and in a conference which discusses international politics all in English.
He talked about a difficulty he found during the conferences. “In highly
developed discussions I feel it is hard when it goes further than mystudies.” He is also thinking of working at the UN in the future, so hetook this opportunity to experience the real atmosphere of the UN.
During the NMUN sessions, the agenda that he had prioritized was skipped,
however, he is trying his best to achieve his goal.
(Yuzuri Funabashi)
Working in Collaboration with Other Delegates
Bianca Diaz, from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut USA, is adelegate of Ukraine on the Security Council. After she went through threedays of sessions, she found it great to work with everybody and it was also
really fun. “Every voice was heard and that’s one of the most important
things at the Model United Nations,” she believes. Ukraine has aninteresting position in the sense that their areas of interest should be met
while the needs of others must also be considered. She said “It’s beenreally great representing Ukraine and playing that middle ground.”Regarding Japan, she loves it so much that she always wanted to visit.
Since this is her first time to come to Japan she was grateful for this experience inthis type of format. Recalling the cultural tours in Hiroshima and Kyoto, Bianca especially admired the legacy
would like to see Tokyo with her own eyes to learn what life in Japan’s big city is like. She likes Japanese foodand katsu!
(Sae Oishi)
Taking the initiative in a highly developed conference“I just want to pay forward to the NMUN which gave me the chance
to notice my own talent and what I love,” said Matthew Craig, a fairly
young Faculty Advisor of the age of 22 from Riverside City
College(RCC). He is soon starting a Bachelor’s Degree at the Universityof California(UC) but he has suspended his study in order to get
involved in the NMUN. He was also a delegate in an MUN two years ago
at RCC and now he is in charge of training all of the delegates fromRCC. He talks about the big advantage of assigning the NMUN from
RCC. RCC is the only community college that has come from the US,
however their contribution is amazing.
The Faculty Advisor negotiated with his college and made it possible to participate in theNMUN with full financial support, even in Japan, a place far away from southern California.
“Participating in the NMUN not only gives my students the opportunity to talk about international
issues but also takes them to a different country and widen their world experience,” he says. He also
prepares training programs for the students to learn how to act as a delegate, so that the delegatesfrom RCC are showing their ability and their will, full of confidence. “I told them to act as leaders in
the conference, which empowers our group and enhances the conference.” He is also amazed by thepoliteness of the Japanese and with the heated toilet seats in the bathrooms. “My delegates evensuggested that we should pool our money to buy one,” he laughed. Matthew is flying to Tokyo thisevening, and looking forward to challenging so many interesting things in Tokyo.
(Yuzuri Funabashi)5VOL. 1, NO. 1１

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

DO YOU KNOW KYO-VEGETABLES?
By Tomomi Yamazaki
In Japan, there are a lot of vegetables, but do you know traditional vegetables of Kyoto? They
are called “Kyoyasai”. According to JA Kyoto, special conditions must be met for vegetables to belabeled Kyoyasai. For example, they have to have history from the Meiji Era (1868-1912) or earlier,they have to be grown in Kyoto and so on…Some of them have been chosen as “Brand vegetables ofKyoto”. For a very long time, people in Kyoto have tackled the improvement of vegetables because
Kyoto is separate from the sea. And there are underground water of good quality, rich soil, mild
wind and distinctly different temperature between summer and winter. Because of these factors,
Kyoyasai have different taste and higher nutrition value, compared with normal vegetables.
First I will introduce “kujo welsh onion.” I think
this vegetable is relatively famous in Japan. Welsh
onions already were grown as early as the Heian Era.
And kujo welsh onion was born in Edo Era. So it has longhistory.
The feature of it is to eat the green part and in thepart we enjoy eating with slimy, sweetness andtenderness. First we eat the green part and then enjoy
the part that is sweet and tender, and also a little slimy.
Next I will introduce “Horikawa burdock”. It issofter than normal burdock. Everyone agrees that it has
good smell and flavor. But it is much more expensive than normal burdock. Generally most people
in the world have never eaten burdock, I have heard. So I want you to try some while you are here.
There are some restaurants in Kyoto that feature
Kyoyasai. For example, at Fukahori, a bakery in Kyoto, you
can find cakes and pies which use Kyoyasai like “Leaf pie withkujou welsh onion and sesame” and “Financier with horikawa
burdock”.
Now, not only in Japan but also around the world,
original vegetables have decreased lately. Instead of them,single kinds of vegetables are popular because they are easierto grow, more prolific and keep longer.
However, we should think again. We have to saveoriginal vegetables. According to research, we lost more than
30 kinds of them. Most of the people who raise original
vegetables are more than 70 years old (according to theYomigaerinoresipi website), so there is a high possibility thatthese vegetables will disappear in the near future. We mustsave original vegetables from extinction because they are“living cultural properties”.
Generally most people tend to like sweet vegetables, so farmers grow vegetables that wereimproved to be sweet. They sell well, but if everyone does this, we will lose a vital tradition.
But the most important thing is saving traditions while adapting to this age. Some Kyoyasai
have improved to adapt to the nuclear family which needs vegetables that are rather small. But theimprovement needs only to be size, not taste or quality. So let’s save the tradition of taste.
6