An Intellectual Dialogue on Building Asia's Tomorrow
The Asian Crisis: Meeting the Challenges to Human Security
Tokyo, Japan
December 2–3, 1998
Opening Remarks by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi
(Provisional Translation)
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a great honor for me to be here today at this Intellectual Dialogue on Building Asia's Tomorrow and I am very pleased to see that we have with us today so many of Asia's intellectual leaders. I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to the staff of the Japan Center for International Exchange, headed by Mr. Tadashi Yamamoto, and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, under Ms. Chia Siow Yue, for their dedicated efforts to organize this meeting. I am also privileged to be able to welcome H. E. Mr. Surin, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and the other participants to this meeting who have come from such great distances to join us and that despite their busy schedule.
Last May as the foreign minister of Japan, I made a policy speech in Singapore on the future outlook of Japan and East Asia. In my speech, I stressed the need for intellectual interaction within the region to help make the 21st century a "century of peace and prosperity." As a first step, I proposed the holding of this Intellectual Dialogue on Building Asia's Tomorrow.
The fact that the economic crisis we are still going through spread so rapidly throughout East Asia only a few months afterwards showed clearly the depth of interdependence among the countries in Asia and in the international community. I proposed this kind of meeting for intellectual dialogue because I strongly felt the need for us to mobilize the diverse intellectuel assets and resourcefulness of each country for the peace and prosperity of the Asian region.
In my speech in Singapore, I proposed five key elements as Obuchi's version of the essential Five C's for overcoming Asia's economic difficulties. Those five C's are: Courage, Creativity, Compassion, Cooperation, and Confidence. These elements are based on my view point which attaches great importance to a human-centered approach to the crisis. As the recent Nobel Prize winner in economics, Professor Amartya Sen from India, pointed out, "the process of development is not primarily one of expanding the supply of goods and services but of enhancing the capabilities of people."
An unavoidable fact is that Asia's remarkable economic development in recent years also created social strains. The current economic crisis has aggravated those strains, threatening the daily lives of many people. Taking this fact fully into consideration, I believe that we must deal with these difficulties with due consideration for the socially vulnerable segments of population, in the light of "Human Security," and that we must seek new strategies for economic development which attach importance to human security with a view to enhancing the long term development of our region. At this year's ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference in July, Foreign Minister Surin, whom, as I said, we are very pleased to have with us today, proposed the organizing of an ASEAN-PMC Caucus on Social Safety Nets. I believe the basic thinking behind his proposal is very similar to mine.
"Human Security" is the theme of today's dialogue. It is my ardent wish that creative intellectual interactions emerge in this area, as they involve many urgent issues, and that wise leadership will be exercised and lead to overcoming the current crisis.
Allow me to make use of this opportunity to share with you, distinguished audience, my views on "Human Security."
In our times, humankind is under various kinds of threats. Environmental problems such as global warming are grave dangers not only for us but also for future generations. In addition, transnational crimes such as illicit drugs and trafficking are increasing. Problems such as the exodus of refugees, violations of human rights, infectious diseases like AIDS, terrorism, anti-personnel landmines and so on pose significant threats to all of us. Moreover, the problem of children under armed conflict ought never to be overlooked.
It is my deepest belief that human beings should be able to lead lives of creativity, without having their survival threatened nor their dignity impaired. While the phrase "human security" is a relatively new one, I understand that it is the key which comprehensively covers all the menaces that threaten the survival, daily life, and dignity of human beings and strengthens the efforts to confront those threats.
Since many of the problems affecting human security cross national borders, no country can solve such problems alone. The co-ordinated action of the international community is necessary. Moreover, since these problems directly affect the rives of human beings, and since it is this area where the activities of citizens through NGOs and others are most effective, it is important for governments and international organizations to strengthen the linkages and cooperation with citizen's activities to cope with such problems.
To support Asian countries in this economic crisis, we have pledged and steadily implemented contributions on the largest scale in the world. With Human Security in mind, we have given, as one of the most important pillars of our support, assistance to the poor, the aged, the disabled, women and children, and other socially vulnerable segments of population on whom economic difficulties have the heaviest impacts.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I believe we should make the 21st century a human-centered century. This has always been my basic idea in my diplomatic activities. In order to build such future, that is to say such a "tomorrow," the most important thing is for the intellectuals to gather by crossing national borders and sharing their confidence in the future based on common aspirations emerging from their intellectual dialogue.
Rich in human resources, abundant in potentials, Asia has sufficient capability to overcome the current crisis and to develop further. I'm confident of this. The hope which Asia would generate in the process of overcoming our present difficulties might be an excellent example for the future of the international community as a whole.
The establishment today of a new forum for intellectuel interaction towards Asia's tomorrow is exceptionally significant. I sincerely hope that these efforts will continue. The Government of Japan intends to continue to support them as far as possible.
To conclude my remarks, I would like to express my heartfelt wish that the discussions in this intellectual dialogue be fruitful ones and serve as a bridge as we proceed toward the Asia's Tomorrow.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.