In first U.N. speech, Takaichi calls for removal of Japan’s wartime ‘enemy state’ label

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi used her first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to call for an overhaul of the world body — including removing a 1940s-era provision that China has latched onto in its row with Tokyo that refers to Japan as an “enemy state.”

Speaking 70 years after the country’s admission to the U.N. in 1956, Takaichi reaffirmed Tokyo’s commitment to multilateralism and said the organization has “never been more important” despite growing doubts about its ability to prevent conflicts. 

But to fulfill its duty of promoting peace, she said the organization “must be reborn as a ‘more resilient and effective United Nations’ and regain the trust of the international community.”

As part of that effort, she called for a review of the U.N. Charter and the removal of its so-called enemy-state clauses.

The provisions refer to countries that fought against the Charter’s signatories in World War II — including Japan, Germany and Italy — as “enemy states” and retain language concerning measures and territorial arrangements arising from the war.

The U.N. General Assembly recognized the clauses as obsolete in a 1995 resolution and expressed its intention to remove them. At the 2005 World Summit, heads of state and government again resolved to delete the references.

Yet the effort has never been completed, partly because of the cumbersome procedure to amend the Charter.

The issue has taken on renewed political significance amid deteriorating relations between Japan and China. Beijing has insisted that the clause remains legally binding and serves as a safeguard of the postwar international order, while accusing Takaichi’s government of accelerating Japan’s “remilitarization.”

Tokyo has rejected that interpretation, saying the clauses are obsolete and that its security policy remains consistent with its postwar pacifist Constitution and defense-oriented posture. 

Takaichi also said that U.N. Security Council reform was “urgently needed,” calling for increases in both permanent and nonpermanent seats to improve its legitimacy and representativeness.

The council has 15 members. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States hold permanent seats and can veto nonprocedural resolutions, while the other 10 members are elected to two-year terms without veto power. 

Japan has long sought a permanent seat.

The current structure frequently leaves the council deadlocked when a permanent member’s interests are at stake. Takaichi pointed to Russia’s use of its veto on resolutions concerning its invasion of Ukraine as evidence that the body was failing in its responsibility to maintain international peace.

Takaichi’s appeal and defense for stronger multilateral institutions on Tuesday contrasted with the approach of Japan’s closest ally, the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who delivered his speech hours earlier the same day, said the U.N. had “great potential” but must stop “imposing the far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected.”

He also called the International Criminal Court an “out-of-control institution” and “an evil group of people,” and urged its member countries to withdraw.

Takaichi, by contrast, reiterated Japan’s “consistent support” for the ICC, which has recently faced a sustained attack by Washington, including sweeping sanctions that targeted the tribunal’s Japanese president.   

Since taking office, the Trump administration has withdrawn from dozens of international bodies, reduced funding for U.N. agencies and delayed some mandatory payments to the organization.

Turning to wider security issues, the Japanese leader said attempts to change the status quo through force or coercion “must never be tolerated anywhere in the world.” 

Takaichi identified several priorities, including strengthening energy and critical-material supply chains, expanding cooperation for peace and stability, and preserving a free and open international order based on the rule of law. 

“These challenges cannot be solved by any single country acting alone,” she said. “Now, more than ever, the flag of the United Nations must be held high.”