The Peacebuilding Vision of Komeito (full version)
May 12 , 2025
From Confrontation and Conflict to Conciliation and Cooperation:
Foreword
An International Environment of Increasing ComplexityThe international community is facing a polycrisis, from geopolitical confrontation, wars and the threat of nuclear weapons to climate change and emerging technologies poised to supersede human intelligence. Japan, in particular, finds itself in an increasingly contentious security environment, one in which the rules-based international order is being undermined.
Conflict Resolution Through Confidence-Building Measures
On August 6, 2024, Komeito announced that it would release its Peacebuilding Vision initiative in 2025 which we meticulously examined over time. The initiative’s most salient feature is the proposal to establish a Northeast Asian Organization for Security Dialogue and Cooperation. Under this framework, participant nations would routinely meet at a permanent forum where disputing parties negotiate to promote mutual confidence and reassurance in an effort to preempt them from engaging in armed conflict. This is the central purpose of our Vision that we maintain is indispensable to ensuring regional stability.
Japan’s Role and Responsibility
In order to address and resolve the challenges of planetary magnitude before us, multilateral cooperation is imperative. Over the past 70 years, Japan has built up credibility through its efforts at international cooperation, a currency it should now employ under the banner of internationalism and multilateralism to promote human dignity and rule of international law. Moreover, to shoulder the stability of the international community and facilitate the sustainable development of the world, our country needs to fortify frameworks for the prevention of political and economic crises.
Komeito’s Diplomacy for Peace
Our Founding Principles and Human SecuritySince its founding in 1964, Komeito has embraced a humanistic perspective placing the utmost value on life, living and the right to survive, as we strive for the betterment of the individual and humanity. We develop prescriptive policies to improve social services, the economy, the environment and education. We do so without being constrained by the shackles of any particular ideology, closely heeding the diverse and manifold voices of ordinary people. Based on these principles, Komeito positions human security as the axis around which its peace diplomacy revolves. Human security is a fundamental belief focusing on every human being, providing for their protection and to afford opportunities for them to develop their potential and abilities to build a flourishing and truly sustainable society. From this belief we will work to uphold the rule of law, ensure peace and prosperity in Japan and contribute to the stability of global society.
Our Foreign Policy Track Record for Peace
Komeito has taken steps to advance peace firmly grounded in reality. In 1992, we were instrumental in Japan overcoming its postwar “single-nation pacifism” through the enactment of the PKO Cooperation Law, enabling the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to participate in UN peacekeeping operations overseas. Having engaged in demining programs abroad for over 20 years, Legislation for Peace and Security was passed in 2015, which we endorsed to fortify Japan’s alliance with the United States. For the government’s 2022 National Security Strategy, we ensured that diplomacy is positioned as the primary pillar in the overall competence of Japan as it pertains to its national security. These achievements concretize our commitment to human security, the bedrock with which to promote concilation and cooperation worldwide.
Interparty Dialogue for International Coordination
Since its founding, Komeito has made diplomatic overtures as a political party to its political peers abroad. Examples of this effort include our initiative to restore diplomatic relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China and to forge stronger bonds of friendship with other countries in Asia. Over the past ten years, Komeito parliamentarians visited 30 nations to engage in dialogues with top leaders in China, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN. We have sent teams to refugee camps in Syria, Gaza and Ukraine to inspect the humanitarian assistance programs being carried out and learn ways to enhance them. We cooperate with ASEAN members on maritime security measures and assist them in clearing landmines. In addition, we were the only political party in Japan to participate in the 2025 Meeting of State-Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, demonstrating our unflagging resolve to free the world of nuclear arms. Going forward, Komeito will remain committed to the pursuit of peace through dialogue, never cavalier with our courage nor ever stooping to populism.
Carrying Forward the Spirit of Peace
The number of survivors to share their experiences of the brutality of war or the inhumanity of nuclear weapons is rapidly declining due to their advancing years. While many testimonies on the importance of peace have been conveyed to younger generations, Komeito holds that the time has come for the “spirit of peace”—the resolve to uphold life’s inherent dignity, faith in our common humanity and yearning for dialogue and harmonious coexistence—to be carried forward as a social compact. Experiences of the hibakusha in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Battle of Okinawa, the bombings and destruction of cities nationwide, the uprooting of wartime civilians—these should all be carefully preserved for their invaluable instruction. They not only serve as lessons never to repeat the tragedies of the past, they also serve as the bridge through which the spirit of peace may be succeeded from one generation to the next. Komeito endeavors to carry forward the spirit of peace to help inform a society that takes ownership of the value of peace. At the same time, we are working to bolster initiatives that foster proactive actors in building peace worldwide.
Purpose and Significance of The Peacebuilding Vision
This Vision’s Significance and Primary FocusAs 2025 is a milestone year marking the 80th anniversaries of the end of World War II, the two atomic bombings and the UN’s founding, opportunities are ripe now more than ever for peace to surge forward. Nevertheless, the international community now faces a host of new challenges from a growing number of geopolitical conflicts, from the threat of nuclear arms and from wanton impacts of AI, engendering unprecedented risks to human security. Given this stark reality, Komeito—based on the tenets of human security—holds as central to our Vision the creation of a Northeast Asia organization for the engagement of dialogue to promote regionwide security and cooperation, identifying this and the abolition of nuclear arms as well as unregulated AI as primary issues to address. Under this framework, nations would routinely meet in a standing forum where disputing parties negotiate in good faith to build mutual confidence and promote reassurance in an effort to prevent them from engaging in armed conflict. Together with our fellow citizens, Komeito is resolved to create a groundswell for building peace by directing confrontation toward conciliation, conflict toward cooperation.
Our Vision’s Purview
Komeito’s Peacebuilding Vision addresses a period that begins from 2025 and ends in 2035. This purview includes such milestone events as the conclusion of the original SDGs and Japan’s planned hosting of the G7 in 2030; the Japanese government’s bid to be elected among the five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council in 2032; and the 90th anniversary of the end of World War II. The next ten years represents a crucial period for Japan to mobilize every resource and take every action to advance peace worldwide; it is also an opportunity to ensure that the spirit of peace is carried forward into the future.
How Our Vision is Structured
Komeito’s Vision is organized into three categories: laying the foundations for peace, actions for its realization and bolstering soft power initiatives. It frames the Northeast Asia Organization for Security Dialogue and Cooperation, nuclear weapons abolition and AI regulation as paramount priorities and, by integrating them with other initiatives Komeito has compiled in the past, seeks to develop a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding.
I. Laying the Foundations for Peace (Establishing International Rules and Strategies)
1. Northeast Asia Organization for Security Dialogue and Cooperation
2. Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
3. Regulating AI
4. UN Reform
5. Securing Maritime Order
II. Actionable Initiatives (Specific Responses to Pressing Issues)
6. Recovery and Reconstruction Assistance (Demining, Recovery and Reconstruction Programs, Disaster Prevention)
7. Climate Change
8. SDGs (SDGs, Global Health, ODA)
9. Judicial Diplomacy
10. Human Rights
11. Recovery of War Dead Remains
12. Okinawa as a Citadel for Peace
III. Strengthening Soft Power Initiatives
13. Education
14. Culture and the Arts, Sports
15. Women
16. Youth
17. Community Outreach
We developed our Vision by engaging numerous diplomatic officials, young people, NGOs and scholars. The outreach initiatives for local governments reflect the input made from Komeito’s prefectural organizations in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa, among others. It reflects ideas and comments uploaded to “We connect,” Komeito’s policymaking survey website. Our Peacebuilding Vision will continue to undergo refinement through an ongoing engagement of various experts and civil society.
The Peacebuilding Vision thus offers the following proposals:
I. Laying the Foundations for Peace
1. Framework for Dialogue to Promote Security and Cooperation in Northeast AsiaSecurity Environment of Northeast Asia
The security environment of Northeast Asia is becoming increasingly belligerent and complex. Based on the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration between Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Komeito calls for the normalization of bilateral relations. In order to achieve this, however, our nation must first resolve such issues as North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, its abduction of Japanese citizens and a balanced accounting of Japan’s historical occupation of the Korean peninsula. And it must do all this by working closely with the US, South Korea and the international community. As to Russia, we insist that the Northern Islands dispute be settled and a formal peace treaty be signed. We find Russian aggression against Ukraine unacceptable and that Moscow observe international law and withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territory. Regarding China, Komeito calls for this bilateral relationship to be nurtured with the care it deserves while pointing out areas of Japanese concerns through open, candid dialogue. We oppose attempts to upend the status quo through intimidation or use of force and insist that Beijing act responsibly. We propose that Japan and China cooperate in resolving shared challenges while endorsing our mutually beneficial relationship founded on common strategic interests.
Establishing the Northeast Asian Organization for Security Dialogue and Cooperation
Given the contested security environment of Northeast Asia, Komeito believes it is imperative to engage in multilateral negotiations involving disputing parties to build confidence and promote reassurance so as to prevent armed conflict. To achieve such outcomes, we cite the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a model in establishing a similar body in Northeast Asia and look to advance the discourse for its realization.
The OSCE is the largest organization of its kind in the world, comprised of 57 nations from North America, Europe—including Russia and Ukraine—and Central Asia. It finds its roots in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and was formally established in 1994. The organization facilitated East-West dialogue during the Cold War, playing a meaningful role in conflict prevention, risk management and reconstruction aid. In contrast to NATO, it is not a military organization and wields its efficacy from dialogue-derived soft power principles. The OSCE’s Secretariat is based in Vienna with ambassadors and working-level officials convening to discuss issues on a biweekly basis. As Russia remains a participating state, the OSCE is expected to play a role in a mutually agreed ceasefire with Ukraine, should one be reached, and support provisions for peace.
While there were other confidence-building measures in Asia during the Cold War, no organized equivalent of the OSCE as a comprehensive and permanent security organization exists in the region today. Although regional frameworks like the ASEAN Regional Forum have been established, they are not permanent bodies and fall short in their capacity to effect conflict resolution through mediation. Northeast Asia, in particular, has an acute need for a standing, dialogue-based organization with which to build confidence and encourage reassurance among the region’s nations.
For that reason, Komeito’s proposal to establish a Northeast Asian Organization for Security Dialogue and Cooperation is central to our Peacebuilding Vision. The motive for such a permanent organization at which participating nations involved in disputes in a region—which we hope would eventually include all of the north Pacific—can resolve their differences through dialogue is manifestly apparent. Komeito proposes that the organization launch with the members of the 2007 Six-Party Talks—Japan, the US, South Korea, China, Russia and North Korea—as participants at the very minimum.
This proposal has been developed through multiple discussions with academic experts and diplomatic officials in both Japan and abroad. During a recent Diet interpellation, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba voiced endorsement for the idea, while Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs, described it as having “major significance” and recommended that it begin as a platform for dialogue and then systematized over time.
As we see it, the initial phase should consist of discussions on such common challenges as collective responses to natural disasters and climate change with the aim of building confidence through intra-organizational coordination and cooperation. For example, Japan should assume a leadership role by organizing and holding international conferences on these issues to strategically seed the idea of a regionwide framework. The goal here is to eventually establish a permanent multinational organization in the future and, at the appropriate time, the Japanese government should examine the viability of hosting its secretariat in Japan.
Komeito is prepared to act as an active intermediary with the US, China, South Korea and others on realizing this proposal. As an important opening move, we raised our proposal before the Japan-China Ruling Party Exchange Council in January 2025, followed by an exchange of views with Chinese officials by Komeito representatives visiting Beijing in April. Going forward, Komeito will be setting up an internal task force to move our Peacebuilding Vision forward. We are committed to securing peace and stability in Asia and to achieve that end, we will take action to make the Northeast Asian Organization for Security Dialogue and Cooperation a reality.
2. Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
Given that Japan is the only country in the world to experience not just one but two atomic bombings, Komeito is adamantly opposed to the threat the weapons pose, to their actual use and to the adoption of “nuclear sharing” arrangements. We will continue to hold our government on adherence to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles—not to possess and produce nuclear arms or permit their deployment on Japanese soil—and to call for summit-level meetings to phase out the role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines. Through these measures, and should Japan seek observer status at the Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Komeito is committed to advancing the discourse on abolishing all such arms. We will act to bridge the divides between the nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states and prepare the groundwork for Japan to ratify the TPNW while working closely with NGOs.
In November 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution providing victim assistance and environmental remediation, with Japan voting in favor. Having endured two atomic bombings and the nuclear powerplant disaster at Fukushima, we fully endorse our country taking the initiative in offering aid to victims and remediating environments contaminated by radiation.
In order to safeguard against the use of nuclear weapons and the breakdown of the established nuclear order, Komeito proposes that the five major nuclear powers of the US, Russia, UK, France and China take part in routine risk-reduction negotiations. The objective of the talks’ first phase should be to ensure that a nuclear-weapon state provide negative security assurances not to attack a non-nuclear-weapon state with nuclear arms and for all parties to endorse a no-first-use agreement in the next phase. We back Japan actively encouraging this process and objective through summit-level diplomatic overtures.
We believe the legal norms of the Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty needs to be augmented and that the treaty’s adoption should be expanded on a region-by-region basis. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has already paved the way for the establishment of five major nuclear-free zones led by the Treaty of Tlatelolco and include the Treaty of Rarontonga, Treaty of Bangkok, Treaty of Pelindaba and Treaty of Semei. We urge all nuclear-weapon states to ratify the additional protocols of these treaties to provide negative security assurances. Komeito concurrently calls for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and establishment of a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia.
Komeito is committed to preserve the remnants of the atomic bombings of Japan, hibakusha testimonies, film footage and other related documentation. We seek to further expand and enhance educational programs on disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, in the effort to accurately convey across national borders and generations the horrific effects of nuclear arms. Komeito will also be striving to secure the world heritage designation of atomic bomb relics.
3. Regulating AI
Toward a Human-Centric AI Society
Accelerating advances in AI technologies should prove beneficial in meeting the manifold challenges that societies with populations that are rapidly aging and declining in birthrates. However, because AI may soon function as a substitute to human cognition, it can also pose a threat to such vital realms as human rights, democracy and national security. In a world that now seeks to coexist with AI and explore its peaceful applications, Komeito will implement regulatory AI policies that are as future-oriented as they are meaningful. These policies will be rooted in humanistic principles and, as a political party dedicated to the welfare of all humankind and its betterment, we will strive to build a human-centric AI society that elevates human dignity, which is as universal as it is fundamental, from an ethical and moral perspective.
Fostering Highly Ethical and Skilled Individuals in the AI Field
Simply being highly skilled in the AI field is not enough. Individuals need to possess a highly developed ethical vantage with a deep sensitivity for human rights and respect for the law while abiding by UNESCO’s Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Japan’s Principles of Human-centric AI Society. Adopting the Artificial Intelligence Skills Alliance and European Skills Agenda as guidelines, Komeito aims to establish a program to train a generation of conscientious AI workers who can preempt or prevent improper AI use that threatens peace and undermines human rights. The program will be conducted in conjunction with a system to verify the propriety of developed AI software.
Regulating AI Technologies for Military Use
We believe that Japan should continue to disavow development and use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). Japan should seek progress on negotiations being conducted by the UN Group of Governmental Experts under the auspices of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons to establish specific measures to prohibit the development of LAWS, while leading the international community in building a consensus on the issue. Moreover, the government should serve in advancing the discourse on the establishment of international rules pertaining to Autonomous Weapon Systems and Intelligent Decision Support Systems that align with international humanitarian laws. From the perspective of nuclear disarmament and abolition, Japan should also reject AI being employed in any manner for the use of, and decision-making process to use, nuclear weapons and state its case at the NPT Review Conference to be held in 2026.
Promoting AI Use for Peaceful Purposes
Creating an AI society centered around humanity’s needs based on the universal endorsement of the international community necessitates actively advancing AI use for peaceful purposes. The following are key examples of this effort:
Conflict Resolution / Reconstruction Support—AI as an early-warning tool to detect signs of impending military conflict; detection of landmines in rebuilding countries
Disaster Reponses—AI to predict disasters and project the resulting range of damage in order to determine the most effective and rapid responses; multilingual AI as a chat box to augment support for disaster victims
Climate Change Responses—Develop energy efficient AI and maximize use of recyclable power generation to supply data centers; employing AI to reduce growing demand for electric power
Medical Care—Improve quality of medical services at hospitals; achieve advances in infectious disease diagnoses and treatments
Cybersecurity—Efficient AI countermeasures to defend against cyberattacks that significantly impact household economics
Cognitive Domain Measures—Develop AI tools in response to deep fake and other fabricated information and expedite the adoption of these tools; standardize original profile technology to safeguard legitimate rights and interests
4. UN Reform
While the UN turns 80 in 2025, 2026 will mark the 70th year of Japanese membership in the international organization. Based on its Charter, the UN plays a crucial role in maintaining peace and stability worldwide. However, as permanent members of the Security Council have exercised their right to veto over the invasions of Ukraine and Gaza, the UN’s ability to resolve conflict has been disappointing. Given the Security Council’s mechanism and composition, it is limited in its responses to the issues confronting the international community. We urge the Japanese government to introduce reforms to the Security Council based on the Pact for the Future ratified by the General Assembly in 2024. Specifically, we call for the number of permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council to be increased, to include G4 nations—Japan, India, Germany and Brazil—and other nations in Africa, with Japan leading the discourse on necessary changes in the effort to develop a unified model for reform.
The Pact for the Future included a commitment to incorporate Beyond GDP, an improved metric that better reflects sustainable development and societal well-being rather than merely relying on a country’s GDP. As Japan is seeking to achieve a society with a high well-being quotient, Komeito will push forward the debate to adopt the Beyond GDP metric.
5. Maritime Security
In the waters of Asia, various problems have arisen in recent years from disputes over maritime rights, with maritime crimes becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse. As a maritime nation heavily dependent on foreign energy imports, the maintenance of maritime order and the freedom of navigation is essential to Japan. In order to avoid accidental military clashes or escalating tensions among disputants, a maritime security organization is indispensable in securing law and order on the high seas. Japan should contribute to the qualitative enhancement of maritime law enforcement capabilities of its Asian neighbors.
In order to establish a maritime order that is free and open based on the rule of law, Komeito calls for further bolstering Japan’s Maritime Safety and Security Policy Program, which invites maritime law enforcement officers in the region to take part. The program was created at the proposal of Komeito and has flourished through our partnership with the Japanese Coast Guard and National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. We look to expand the program to include officers from Pacific Island countries and southern Asia with the aim of training capable personnel and promoting mutual understanding.
Japan should concurrently develop Exclusive Economic Zones for peaceful purposes and conflict resolution. It needs to secure the safety and utility of the oceans through new technologies. These include the use of drone base stations, set up when constructing floating offshore wind power generators, to also be tasked in maritime safety and security activities, as well as to promote “smart fisheries” by introducing artificial reefs for large numbers of fish to congregate.
II. Actionable Initiatives
6. Recovery and Reconstruction AssistanceDemining Assistance
Komeito was a key driver in the Japanese government ratifying in 1998 the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, or the Ottawa Treaty. We also lobbied extensively for the development of mine detection and clearance systems and for these systems to be provided overseas under Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) program, supporting demining efforts in Cambodia, Vietnam and elsewhere. Working closely with the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), we helped establish training and technical programs carried out over many years, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of in-country fatalities and injuries. CMAC used that experience to provide Columbia, Laos and other countries with technical guidance, with Japan providing the demining systems playing the role of a third-party benefactor.
Komeito is currently focusing its attention to Ukraine, where Japan would engage in a trilateral demining partnership with Cambodia. The initiative will feature programs to educate and raise awareness of Ukrainians on the perils of mines, while providing not only mine detecting and clearance machines but also medical and prosthetic device support for victims. The Ukraine Mine Action Conference will be held during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), which the Japanese government hosts in August 2025. The conference will explore solutions to landmines and unexploded ordinances. Moreover, as the host-nation of the 2025 Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Treaty, Japan should capitalize on the opportunity to spearhead the effort using Japanese technical expertise to rid the world of these inhumane weapons.
Diplomacy for Peace Through Recovery and Reconstruction Initiatives
The overriding priority is to end the fighting in Ukraine and the Gaza District. Unless a peace settlement is secured, the process of recovery and reconstruction cannot commence. Komeito seeks for Japan to draw on its experience accrued from its own postwar reconstruction and coordinate with nations neighboring the two areas to provide rebuilding assistance together with international agencies and NGOs. Komeito will assist the Japanese government in facilitating the creation of a support nexus integrating humanitarian aid, development programs and peacebuilding initiatives.
Contributing Internationally Through Disaster Prevention Measures Using the UN-adopted Citizen’s Guide to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 as a roadmap, Komeito will encourage international cooperation on disaster prevention and reduction. As these events are scaling in magnitude, we look to strengthen partnerships with other countries on ways to respond to calamities while positioning disaster prevention as a mainstream subject in the global discourse.
7. Climate Change
Ten years have passed since the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted and the task of keeping the rise of global warming to 1.5℃ remains imperative. In 2024, that ceiling has already been breached, with global temperatures increasing by an average of 1.55℃ over pre-industrial levels; moreover, US withdrawal from the accord threatens to undermine further progress on the climate change front. As seen in recurring heat waves across Europe, the rising number of heat stroke cases in Japan and food crisis from the resultant damage to agriculture, climate change adversely impacts all life and the ways human beings lead their lives. If left unchecked, people living beneath the poverty line are expected to grow by 40 million and the number of climate refugees is projected to surpass two billion by 2050. Although climate change represents one of the greatest challenges to human security and peace worldwide, Komeito holds that this crisis also offers an important opportunity to forge international solidarity.
To Achieve the 1.5℃ Goal
In order to achieve the Paris agreement’s goal of 1.5℃, Komeito will accelerate the process of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, stepping up domestic efforts to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint. We will establish a scientifically grounded, third-party organization on climate change in Japan and, as a leader in the international community, engage in an ambitious CO2 reduction initiative that also incorporates the voices of youth and the socially vulnerable. We will actively work with the government to avert violent conflict caused by climate change by extending international aid to climate refugee support programs and to heighten water and food security.
Contributing Internationally Through Japanese Expertise Komeito has been a consistent supporter of Japan assisting developing nations reduce greenhouse gas emissions through its technological and engineering expertise. It should strive to create recyclable economies by promoting renewal energy sources more responsive to the needs of regionality and biodiversity. This can be achieved such steps as growth-oriented carbon pricing, floating offshore wind power generation and perovskite photovoltaics. Thus, we believe the government must take the initiative in expanding the Asia Zero Emission Community. It should also enter into a strategic partnership with China, the world’s largest source of CO2 emissions, to drive the reduction in greenhouse gases.
Combating Plastics Pollution Based on the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision that aims to reduce additional pollution from marine plastic litter to zero by 2050, we support Japan leading the effort to formulate an international treaty on plastics pollution and to step up coordination with international agencies to that end.
8. Sustainable Development Goals
Achieving SDGs by 2030 and the Post-2030 Discourse
For countries to achieve the SDGs by 2030, they will need to increase the pace of international coordination and amplitude of action. Komeito has been lobbying for Japan to accelerate efforts in realizing its SDGs as it encourages discussions between the private and public sectors to determine new post-2030 goals for the world, assuming international leadership in the effort. Furthermore, we maintain that Japan should work more closely together with African nations through TICAD to achieve further progress on their respective SDGs.
Komeito aims to facilitate SDG attainment at home and abroad by adding new value through digitization while striving to close the digital divide and achieve inclusive growth. Japan should expand ICT access to developing countries and enable them to drive human resource development to realize a digital society in which no one is left behind. It should further promote international cooperation by sharing satellite data with other countries in order to combat global warming or to prevent natural disasters. At the same time, we feel our nation should take the initiative in an international partnership for disaster prevention and reduction through the peaceful use of space technologies.
In Japan, Komeito will push forward passage of a basic law to achieve SDGs as part of a larger strategic national initiative. Japan, we believe, should lead the discourse on innovative ways of raising revenues to promote SDGs worldwide, including the international solidarity levy and digital consumption tax, as well as through fair and equitable international financing schemes. This effort requires leveraging the competences of private enterprises and NPOs. Based on the principles of human security, Komeito will engage in and endorse initiatives featuring the advancement of education, health and wellbeing, food production and agriculture, as well as peacebuilding and refugee protection.
Global Health
Infectious diseases disrupt the movement of people and upend economic health, striking vulnerable countries or the impoverished particularly hard. To cite two of the latest examples, Komeito has engaged in international health initiatives by pushing forward participation in and promotion of COVAX Facility as well as backed measures to control sand fleas in Kenya.
Komeito calls on the government to assist developing countries in laying a more robust health and medical infrastructure. We are also urging the government to enhance the quality of support to The Global Fund and other institutions by providing Japanese medical supplies and equipment.
Under the auspices of the World Health Organization and other international agencies, Japan should seek the establishment of a more actionable framework to amplify global cooperation on such international agreements as the Pandemic Treaty. Should the House of Councillors of Japan endorse it, the government should back Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO and spearhead other measures to expand coverage of existing healthcare programs.
Komeito’s committee to promote global health is now working on initiatives to achieve universal health coverage worldwide, from preparatory measures to improve medical systems to human resource development programs and timely responses to global health crises.
Official Development Assistance
Komeito believes ODA is instrumental to improving Japan’s national security environment and fortifying international order, leveraging the trust Japanese ODA has accrued over the years with the Global South. We pledge to maintain ODA’s useage solely to non-military purposes and aim to achieve the ratio of foreign aid to 0.7% of gross national income. Komeito will seek to enhance transparency of ODA use and full governmental accountability as well. We also endorse a proposal to allocate a portion of the ODA to be dispensed by NGOs and seek reforms to the ODA’s organizational structure.
9. Judicial Diplomacy
Our government needs to support the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by loaning Japanese judiciary officers to the Court and through reciprocal internships. Japan should strive to safeguard the ICC’s independence and impartiality under the larger goal of prioritizing the value of the international rule of law. In order to prevent changes to the status quo by force, our nation should engage in judicial diplomacy with the goal of creating a new rules-based international order. Moreover, Japan must encourage ratification of international treaties prohibiting and preventing acts of genocide.
10. Human Rights
Informed by previous discussions on human rights in Japan, Komeito will examine the possibility of establishing a system to remedy abuses that would include national human rights institutions. We will evaluate the effectiveness of such laws targeting such discriminatory acts against the “burakumin” minority and prohibiting hate speech while continuing to study similar human rights systems overseas. In addition, to protect the human rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community, we call for Japan to join the Equal Rights Coalition in order to achieve a more diverse and inclusive society. These measures would be accompanied by initiatives to enhance awareness and acceptance of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which would be adopted by public institutions at both the national- and local-government level as well as by the private sector. While small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would require state support and incentives to adopt the measures, the overall goal would be for Japanese companies to not only to do so internally, but to also extend and embed human rights safeguards to their respective supply chains both at home and abroad. Komeito believes the manner in which the measures will be supported should be guided by the experience of and information drawn from international institutions.
11. Recovering Remains of War Dead
Some 2.4 million Japanese were killed in the previous world war. Of that number, the remains of 1.12 million victims have yet to be recovered, while 590,000 are thought to be recoverable. Komeito sees paying respects to the war dead as integral to the peacebuilding process as it raises public awareness of those who lost their lives in the war and represents a step toward international reconciliation. The matter is especially pressing as surviving family members are now quite elderly and seek closure as soon as possible. Additionally, we are examining the possibility of creating a national memorial facility at this time; the number of options in the recovery effort will also be expanded.
12. Okinawa as a Citadel for Peace
Decades have ensued since the reversion of Okinawa to Japan and the prefecture has been making significant strides in that time through the hard work of its residents and the national plan for Okinawa’s ongoing development. Going forward, Komeito will push for follow-on development programs that are as comprehensive as they are proactive, with the end-goal being to establish a strong and sustainable Okinawan economy. We concurrently believe that Japan position Okinawa as an innovative center dedicated to global peace and stability.
With more than 70% of US military facilities located in Okinawa, reducing the burden shouldered by the island prefecture is an urgent issue. Komeito proposes that the land south of Kadena air base be returned as quickly as possible and a larger number of US training exercises be relocated outside the prefecture to help alleviate that burden through the rebalancing of US forces in Japan. We believe these steps can be taken even as the Japan-US defense alliance is made stronger. Moreover, we call on Japan to examine the possibility of including a provision in the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to recognize the pre-indictment transfer of a SOFA detainee suspected of a major crime to local law enforcement officials. Another step to improve US military-Okinawa ties that we endorse is to hold routine discussions between the US base commander with officials of the host local government and to secure the right of on-base access, with the ultimate objective being to review and amend SOFA.
III. Augmenting Soft Power Initiatives
13. EducationEducation is essential in upholding life’s inherent dignity and worth, as a tool to build peace shared by the entire world, as an investment in human capital that supports human security. Komeito is working so that Japan take the lead in providing citizens with a quality education and empower women, children and young people; we also look to secure opportunities for learners to receive an education during times of war and disasters through various means, including through international frameworks. We insist that schools must not be allowed for military purposes and that the Japanese government should join the Safe Schools Declaration at the earliest possible opportunity.
Komeito maintains that education should strive for the happiness of all children, shining a light on every individual and foster global citizens who will contribute to the worldwide advancement of peace. Japan can thus take the initiative in the shaping of a genuinely sustainable society by actively promoting the exchange of and cooperation among internationally renowned educators. In addition, our country should strive to secure educational autonomy in all countries as a means with which future generations can serve the cause of peace.
In that vein, Komeito played a key role in the 2017 launching of the Japanese Initiative for the Future of Syrian Refugees to provide educational opportunities to individuals from war-torn areas. We are now looking to expand eligibility for youth chosen through a careful selection process from Gaza, Afghanistan and other conflict zones, who seek to be of service in rebuilding their communities.
14. Culture and the Arts, Sports
The joy and inspiration created by culture and the arts transcend national borders; the emotional security they father form the foundations of peace. Komeito is proposing the creation of a new government agency for the advancement of culture and the arts, which we see as another means to expand the network of goodwill and friendship linking Japan with other countries.
Our party will continue supporting efforts to translate and circulate literary works, manga and anime for children and young people, sharing these along with peace literature and hibakusha testimonies with the world. Komeito will introduce initiatives to foster new generations of content creators and encourage their interactions with diverse cultures. We will promote sports as an effective vehicle to further mutual understanding while concurrently striving to realize social harmony through an environment in which everyone—from children and the disabled to the elderly—can enjoy being physically active.
15. Women
Women and children are especially vulnerable to wars and calamities, which is why Komeito holds it indispensable that women participate as equal partners in conflict resolution, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, abolition of nuclear arms, and other vital endeavors. We will enhance the effectiveness of Japan’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), while concurrently striving to foster women who will serve in leadership roles in realms like peacebuilding, human rights protection and disaster prevention; we will also support their work at international agencies, NGOs and other areas.
Komeito will further facilitate the securing of women and men as co-equals in the decision-making processes at both the public- and private-sector levels and promote the appointment of more women to government councils. We will also publicize the ratio in which women participate in these measures in order to ascertain the rate of integration. Moreover, it should be mandatory for women to comprise a majority in any state decision relevant to women’s affairs. In order to achieve gender equality and redress the income gap, moreover, we will improve the environment for co-parenting and incentivize the government and companies to combat gender role bias. Komeito will also provide robust opportunities for reskilling and recurrent education for women.
16. Youth
With the UN Summit of the Future 2024 underscoring “meaningful youth engagement,” Komeito is calling for greater involvement of young people in schools, local communities, governmental decision-making and international conferences based on the Pact for the Future agreed upon by world leaders. Japan should expand and improve the Youth Leader Fund for a World without Nuclear Weapons, the UN program launched through the contribution of the Japanese government. Komeito will establish a special fund to promote youth conferences at various communities and support youth organizations engaged in the abolition of nuclear weapons and combatting climate change.
We will work for Japan to mainstream the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and, together with the WPS, facilitate concurrent progress on both agendas. The government should also support the adoption of the international norm for the rehabilitation of youth involved in terrorism and armed conflict, providing them with basic rights and empowerment opportunities. In addition, Komeito will coordinate with the Japanese government to foster young people engaged in disarmament and humanitarian causes and peacebuilding activities and support them at every available opportunity.
17. Community Outreach
Initiatives to Build Peace at the Community Level
In order to enable local governments across Japan to take part in a movement to abolish nuclear weapons and build lasting peace, Komeito believes the first step will be to conduct public surveys on peace in communities nationwide, raising awareness in younger generations. This is a vital step allowing us to tackle the challenges of carrying forward the experiences of the hibakusha and survivors of World War II. We will preserve and utilize the remnants of the war and atomic bombings to promote school excursions in which students can engage in peace studies or partake in peace tourism. Additionally, Komeito would facilitate the holding of a “peace tourism summit” organized jointly by the prefectures of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa as an initiative shared with other prefectures and communities in Japan and the world.
Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa: An Alliance for Peace
Komeito would support Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa in co-developing a study notebook on peace for people of all ages, converting analog versions into digital media including virtual reality iterations of the experiences undergone by hibakusha. We would support these and other peace initiatives mounted by local communities.
Komeito will work with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which atomic bombs once devastated, and Okinawa, where the bloodiest land battle in Japanese history took place, in their efforts to abolish nuclear weapons and build peace. We will invite world leaders and parliamentarians to the three prefectures to deepen their understanding of the horrors of nuclear and conventional war.
Our party is also prepared to work with the three prefectures in co-organizing international conferences to further fuel the groundswell of public opposition to nuclear weapons and incorporate the denuclearization of Northeast Asia and the no-first-use principle in discussions at the NPT Review Conference in 2026. Additionally, Komeito will support the fostering of experts and young stewards on nuclear disarmament and peacebuilding.
Komeito will coordinate with Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa in encouraging international agencies on peacebuilding and security to place the prohibition of AI use in nuclear devices and LAWS regulations under their purview.
Local Governments and SDGs
Komeito will serve in advancing cooperation among local governments in the realms of peace education, economic and cultural exchange, tourism promotion and environmental protection and in doing so, amplify mutual communication. Local governments play an invaluable role in realizing a society that leaves no one behind. We will help these governments facilitate initiatives to achieve SDGs and actively share examples of their success with their peers in both Japan and the world.
Coexisting in Harmony with Foreign Nationals
In Japan today, the realization of a society coexisting in harmony is particularly relevant as the number of foreign laborers and exchange students increases. Komeito proposes the establishment of a support system in which the national and local governments work together with the private sector in coping with the influx of people from abroad. The system would not only encourage grassroots interactions within host communities, but exchange among local governments as well. The goal is to promote and enhance mutual understanding among residing foreign nationals and their host citizens while expanding the scale and scope of international cooperation.
