Japanese Ambassador: Russian Invasion of Ukraine Shows U.N. Security Council Needs Reforms

Japanese ambassador in Belgrade Akira Imamura (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Japanese Ambassador to Serbia Akira Imamura has said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine clearly shows that the U.N. Security Council is unable to operate efficiently in such situations.

Imamura told the Politika daily in an interview that, as the United Nations were nearing its 80th anniversary, reforms were necessary, including reforms of the Security Council to strengthen the functionality of the organization and make the solving of global challenges more efficient.

He also said that the increasingly deep divisions about nuclear weapons and Russia's nuclear threats within the international community made the situation surrounding nuclear proliferation more and more difficult and complex. However thorny the path toward a world without weapons may be, it will not stop us, Imamura said about the efforts of Japan, which recently held commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Regarding international relations, he stressed that the most vulnerable states needed the principles of rule of law the most, stressing the U.N. Charter's principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the peaceful resolution of conflict and non-use of force. Imamura stressed that respecting and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law and following the U.N. Charter to the benefit of all nations, large and small, was an exceptionally important principle for Serbia as well.