UNEP chief calls for united international efforts to fight plastic pollution

The head of the United Nations Environment Programme has urged the international community to unite to tackle plastic pollution.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen made the call in an interview with NHK ahead of the UN-designated World Environment Day on Thursday.
Members of an intergovernmental negotiating committee met in the South Korean city of Busan last year to try to reach an agreement on a draft of what would be the first legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution.
But they failed to strike a deal due to differences among countries.
Against this backdrop, World Environment Day this year focuses on ending plastic pollution.
Andersen said: "I think the whole world is aware that plastic pollution is a problem. It's a problem on our beaches and in our oceans, and it's a problem in our soils and our water and even in our bodies."
She expressed hope that an agreement will be reached on a draft of a treaty at a meeting of the committee in Switzerland in August. She said she wants Japan to play a leadership role.
Andersen also called for support for emerging economies and developing nations, where plastic pollution could spread in tandem with economic and population growth.
She said all countries in the Global South should receive investments to help them optimize waste management.

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Yomiuri Shimbun

2 hours ago

• Yomiuri Shimbun

Japan, ROK Expected to Deepen Future-Oriented Cooperation; Nations on Equal Economic Footing, Share Common Challenges

Japan and South Korea marked the 60th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations on Sunday. The two countries once interacted as an industrialized country and a developing country, but they have now become equal partners, on par with each other in economic terms. They are also facing common challenges, including the drastically changing international situation and populations that are rapidly graying with chronically low birthrates. It will be essential for Japan and South Korea to deepen their future-oriented cooperation while carefully dealing with historical issues that could trigger conflicts. 'There are many fields in which we can cooperate by sharing knowledge. We want to further broaden the areas for Japan-South Korea cooperation and pass the baton of cooperation to future generations,' Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a ceremony in Tokyo on Thursday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties. Ishiba referred to regional revitalization and measures to address the low birthrate, issues on which he is focusing. The prime minister called on South Korea to work together on issues where the two countries share common interests, apparently in consideration of the fact that South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung, who took office earlier this month, is promoting a pragmatic approach by focusing on practical benefits. South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world following the Korean War. However, it managed to achieve high economic growth, known as the 'Miracle on the Hangang River,' partly due to the normalization of diplomatic ties with Japan. The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea and The Agreement on the Settlement of Problems concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea were both signed on June 22, 1965. Via these agreements, the two countries acknowledged that the issue of claims between them had been settled, under the premise that Japan would provide South Korea with economic cooperation worth $500 million — about twice the size of South Korea's national budget at that time — establishing the foundation of later Japan-South Korea relations. Currently, the two countries have about the same level of gross domestic product per capita. In the field of semiconductors, Japan has advantages in materials and manufacturing equipment while South Korea has strengths in production, making the two countries increasingly mutually dependent. Japan and South Korea also share the problem of a poor working environment for women, which is considered one of the factors behind the low birthrate in both countries. Japan ranked 118th among 148 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, while South Korea stood at 101st. 'Complimentary partners' President Lee reportedly expressed a sense of crisis over his country's low birthrate when he met Koichi Aiboshi, a former Japanese ambassador to South Korea, in December 2021. '[South Korea] has spent a considerable amount of budgetary funds on measures to counter the low birthrate, but the situation has failed to see any progress,' Lee reportedly said. He also told Aiboshi that he would like to find out what is done in other countries to use them as references. 'To collaborate with President Lee, who is focusing on the economy, it will be important to explore specific cases for cooperation,' Aiboshi said. In a congratulatory video message for an event held in Seoul on June 16 to mark the anniversary of diplomatic relations, Lee said, 'South Korea and Japan are key partners who must cooperate closely in responding to a rapidly changing global landscape.' In his first summit meeting with Ishiba in Canada later in the week, Lee also said Japan and South Korea are 'complimentary partners.' South Korea experienced a political vacuum for about six months due to the impeachment and removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. It is an urgent task for the country to respond to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff measures and demand to increase defense spending as well as a military alliance between Russia and North Korea. Like Japan, South Korea relies on energy imports, and stability in the East and South China Seas and the Middle East is directly linked with its economy. According to Japan's Defense Ministry officials, the ministry examined a plan to provide maintenance work in Japan for South Korea's F-35 fighters, as a symbol of improved bilateral ties during the rule of former President Yoon's administration. In the Asia-Pacific region, maintenance bases for F-35 jets are located only in Japan and Australia. South Korea is cautious about defense equipment cooperation with Japan, so it currently has to take its F-35 fighters to Australia for maintenance. Changing public opinion South Korea's political left wing, which supports President Lee's administration, is strict about historical issues and tends to be conciliatory to China and North Korea. Therefore, Japan remains wary of the new administration. However, in an opinion poll conducted by South Korean's Korea JoongAng Ilbo this month regarding the country's diplomatic relations with Japan, 49.6% of respondents sought future-oriented cooperation in such fields as the economy, technology, security and the environment. This exceeds the 31.5% who sought the resolution of historical issues. The groundwork is nearly completed to take cooperation between the two countries to a new level.

Japan Times

3 hours ago

• Japan Times

Tokyo votes in local election seen as key test for ruling party

Voting kicked off Sunday for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly, a poll seen as a key barometer of public sentiment towards the central government, which has been struggling with low approval ratings. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party — its popularity battered by surging inflation and high rice prices — hopes to retain its position as the largest party in the mega-city's legislature. "We will do everything ... to get everyone elected," Ishiba told reporters earlier this month when campaigning kicked off, claiming his party was best positioned to resolve local issues affecting Tokyo's some 14 million residents. The Tokyo assembly election is being watched closely as it comes just weeks before elections for the country's Upper House, which local media has reported could take place on July 20. Ishiba is seeking to maintain his coalition's majority, having already lost a majority in Lower House elections last October. Local media have speculated that another blow in the polls could lead to a change of party leadership. For months, public support for Ishiba, who took office in October, has been at rock bottom, thanks in part to rising inflation and soaring rice costs on his watch. Polls this month showed a slight uptick in support, thanks in part to new policies to tackle the rice price issue. Polling stations for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly will close at 8:00 pm. A record 295 candidates were running in Sunday's election — the most since 1997— including 99 female candidates, the highest proportion ever, which officials have hailed as a "delightful trend." Japan remained at 118th place out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index ranking this year, as women's participation in politics was particularly low.

The Mainichi

4 hours ago

• The Mainichi

Japan and South Korea mark 60 years of ties despite lingering tension and political uncertainty

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan and South Korea are marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations Sunday. The two Asian powers, rivals and neighbors, have often had little to celebrate, much of their rancor linked to Japan's brutal colonial rule of Korea in the early 20th century. Things have gotten better in recent years, but both nations -- each a strong ally of the United States -- now face political uncertainty and a growing unease about the future of their ties. Here's a look at one of Northeast Asia's most crucial relationships, from both capitals, by two correspondents from The Associated Press. The view from Seoul, by Kim Tong-hyung South Korea's new liberal president, Lee Jae Myung, is determined to break sharply from the policies of his disgraced predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who now faces a trial on charges of leading an insurrection over his imposition of martial law in December. Relations with Japan, however, are one area where Lee, who describes himself as a pragmatist in foreign policy, may find himself cautiously building on Yoon's approach. Before his removal from office in April, the conservative former president tried to repair relations with Japan. Yoon wanted to also tighten the countries' three-way security cooperation with Washington to counter North Korean nuclear threats. In 2023, Yoon announced a South Korea-funded compensation plan for colonial-era forced laborers. That decision caused a strong backlash from victims and their supporters, who had demanded direct payments from Japanese companies and a fresh apology from Tokyo. Yoon's outreach boosted tourism and business ties, but there's still lingering resentment in South Korea that Japan failed to reciprocate Seoul's diplomatic concession by addressing historical grievances more sincerely. While advocating for pragmatism and problem-solving in foreign policy, Lee has also long criticized Japan for allegedly clinging to its imperialist past and blamed that for hurting cooperation between the countries. Some experts say the stability of the countries' improved ties could soon be tested, possibly around the Aug. 15 anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II, when Lee is expected to publicly address the nation's painful history with Japan. Some in Seoul want Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to mark the anniversary with a stronger statement of remorse over Japan's wartime past to put bilateral ties on firmer ground. While wartime history will always linger in the background of Seoul-Tokyo relations, Lee and Ishiba may face a more immediate concern: U.S. President Donald Trump's rising tariffs and other America-first trade policies. South Korea's Hankyoreh newspaper in an editorial this week called for South Korea and Japan to "collaborate immediately" on a joint response to Trump's policies, arguing that the proposed U.S. tariffs on automobiles pose similar threats to both countries' trade-dependent economies. The view from Tokyo, by Mari Yamaguchi Ishiba, eager to improve ties with Seoul, has acknowledged Japan's wartime aggression and has shown more empathy to Asian victims than his recent predecessors. His first encounter with Lee seemed positive, despite worries in Japan about South Korea's stance under a liberal leader known for attacks on Japan's wartime past. Lee, in that meeting with Ishiba at the G7, likened the two countries to "neighbors sharing the same front yard" and called for building a future-oriented relationship that moves beyond their "small differences and disagreements." Ishiba and Lee agreed to closely communicate and to cooperate on a range of issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile development. Under a 1965 normalization treaty, Japan provided $500 million in economic assistance to South Korea, saying all wartime compensation issues were settled. However, historical issues including forced labor and sexual abuse of Korean women during the war have disrupted ties over the decades, while South Korea has become an Asian power and a rival to Japan, and while Tokyo, especially during the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 's rule, has promoted revisionist views. Japan has since offered atonement money twice for the so-called "comfort women," an earlier semi-private fund and a second one unilaterally dissolved by former South Korean President Moon Jae-in's liberal government. Things have improved in recent years, and Japan is watching to see whether Lee sticks with his conservative predecessor's more conciliatory diplomacy or returns to the confrontation that marked previous liberal governments. Cooperation between the two sides is "more essential than ever" to overcome their shared problems such as worsening regional security and Trump's tariffs that have shaken free trade systems, Japan's largest-circulation newspaper Yomiuri said in a recent editorial. At a 60th anniversary reception in Tokyo, Ishiba said that he sees "a bright future" in the relationship. He expressed hope also for cooperation in "common challenges" such as low birth rates and declining populations.