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Y. Ohno: Address to World Summit 2020
Written by Hon. Yoshinori Ohno, Minister of Defense (2004-2005); President of IAPP-Japan
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Address to World Summit 2020, Seoul, Korea, February 3-8, 2020
Distinguished guests! Ladies and gentlemen assembled at this breakout session of IAPP. Good afternoon! This World Summit is especially significant as we commemorate the Centenary of the UPF’s founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon. The theme of this session is to promote peace and security through “Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values” which are core teachings of Rev. Moon.
In order to keep and maintain peace and security, we should try our best through various measures. The first measure is defense power. Defense power is essential as a deterrent in order not to be attacked. But I have to say that defense power can spark a war in some cases. In the second place, I’d like to stress that any trouble should be solved through diplomatic power.
However, in order to maintain peace, there is much stronger power than defense and diplomatic power. That is human relationship. We could call this sort of human relations “peace power.” Let’s push forward this peace power. In order to strengthen peace power, let’s promote an exchange of people at all levels, particularly at the level of young people. Exchange of students is called “ambassadors from the future.” They will surely bring peace on this earth. I believe this is the basis of “Interdependence and Mutual Prosperity.”
As you know, Japan is the only country that experienced the misery of the atomic bomb. Then, do you know what the Japanese said regarding the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The monument to the victims says, “Rest in peace, we’ll never repeat this mistake,” instead of saying, “Remember the American atomic bomb.”
We avoided antagonism between assailants and victims. We are simply stressing “no atomic bomb in the future.” The important things are, first, “Do not hate people, but hate wrongdoing,” and second, “Peace can be made through good human relations, which is love.” I believe that this is a universal value shared by everyone.
On the point of nuclear weapons, we are paying special attention to the activities of North Korea. If North Korea abandons nuclear weapons, not only Northeast Asia but also the world as a whole could go one step forward to peace. In order to achieve this goal, I believe that the roles of the Unites States, Japan and South Korea are essential.
One more point we have to think about seriously, in Japan particularly, is decreasing population. The Japanese are the world’s No.1 long-living people. It’s now becoming a country of more aged people with fewer children. The number of family members living under the same roof is decreasing. This leads to a society without love of family. Love is necessary for a family life. The founders of the UPF, Rev. Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, have stressed the importance of family values.
Therefore, let’s push forward with love and peace, through this meeting of the UPF. Let me call this peace power. Peace power may be stronger than defense power, stronger than diplomacy power. Thank you very much!
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