Tokyo, Japan—UPF-Japan held the East Tokyo Forum for Peace and Security of Asia and Japan on January 16, 2022 in Tokyo. The event, which discussed strengthening cooperation between the U.S., Japan and South Korea against China’s hegemony, was attended by approximately 150 people, including members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, the prefectural parliament of Tokyo Metropolis; academics; business leaders; and experts from various fields.
The program began with remarks by Mr. Hideyuki Ozawa, co-chairman of the Association for Ambassadors for Peace in East Tokyo, who emphasized the significance of the forum. He said: "As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Japan and the world are in a very chaotic situation. At the same time, 2022 is an important year for not only Japan but also the U.S., China and South Korea because some elections will be held, the outcome of which will determine the direction these major countries take. This forum will be a great opportunity to consider how we should observe and take action on domestic and international situations as Ambassadors for Peace."
Following the congratulatory messages from several speakers, including a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, Mr. Masayoshi Kajikuri, chairman of UPF-Japan, gave the keynote speech.
At the outset, he noted that the G7 summit in the U.K. last June had focused on dealing with China's aspirations for global hegemony as the most critical issue of the meeting. Afterwards, he spoke about the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had been the most powerful communist country in the world during the late 1980s, and analyzed China’s current situation. He went on to warn about the threat of China's expanding hegemony against the backdrop of its tremendous economic power.
Furthermore, Mr. Kajikuri explained that communism, which denies religion and faith, human values, ethics and morality, suppresses and violates human rights, causes family disruption, and so forth. He introduced three goals of the movement of Ambassadors for Peace to address and overcomes these problems: (1) building a model "Peace UN"; (2) promoting peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region based on the unity of Japan, Korea and the U.S.; and (3) advocating the values of peaceful ideal families and a culture of service. Finally, he stressed the need to firmly establish a clear national vision for the Reiwa period and called for active participation in the movement of Ambassadors for Peace.
The event concluded with the approval of a resolution which calls for the promotion of constitutional reform, the strengthening and development of the Japan-Korea security system and other actions.