AAPP総会 玄葉光一郎議員演説
議題:アジアの政治・経済情勢に関する一般討議

President Li Peng,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentleman,
It is a great honor for me to speak on the topic of “Globalization, the Developing Nations, and Peace”, especially focusing on the diversity of the Asian region.
Globalization of the world economy is a reality. We need to accept this in a positive way.
However, we must be aware that globalization ways sometimes create a gap or an absolute divide. For example, confrontation may happen between the industrialized countries and the developing countries, or between a small group of big companies and a large number of SMEs.
The important thing is to positively accept globalization and expand it to a “mature globalism”.
A mature globalism respects the intrinsic difference and endogenous values of each country. For instance, I believe that the conditionalities imposed on the Asian countries by the IMF at the same time of the financial crisis were wrong.
At the time, in the Parliament session, I demanded the Foreign Minister and the Finance Minister that Japan should appeal to the IMF to formulate conditionalities were suitable to the Asian situation.
Mr. Chairman,
I will now like to talk about peace. I firmly believe that, in solving the root cause of conflicts, we should emphasize the uniqueness and the voluntary decision of the different countries.
For example, assistance of democratization. It is said that democratic nations don’t fight against another. We, therefore, must not spare efforts to help democratization. However there is one truth we need to keep in mind. Inherent ethos to respect human nature and to encourage mutual help and compassion is found in any society and in culture. Such inherent social principle ought to be topped in helping a country develop sustainable democracy.
Japan over the last decade has been the largest ODA donor country in the world. When we review our ODA program, we need to emphasize and draw on such inherent social principle of recipient countries. Assistance program for the small and medium enterprises could be one good example, because it can result in comprehensive economic development driven by the will and wish of the people.
ODA should be useful in guiding the collective energy of people to achieve better life based on development.
Recently many parliamentarians in Japan express this concern effectiveness of our ODA programs.
Because of acceleration globalization in the 21st century, many things will be increasingly standardized and homogenized, including methodologies, standard and procedures.
If that is the case, it becomes all the more important for us to respect individuality, diversity and autonomous decision making.
I consider it important that Japan make utmost effort to minimize negative Impacts of globalization.
Dear participants, let’s join hands to nurture “matured globalization”.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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