Japan – a partner with responsibility
Japan is represented in Vienna by a bilateral ambassador and a Permanent Representative to the International Organisations. These organisations cover a wide field, from nuclear energy to export controls, from conventional weapons to the fight against drugs and crime. Japan is one of the world’s most important economic partners and is also politically very important. It is a consolidated parliamentary democracy, the supreme power comes from the people, the Japanese Emperor (Tennō) is the symbol of the nation without political power.
Work in international organisations such as the UN is an important instrument of foreign policy. In 1956, Japan became the 80th member country of the United Nations, in 1975, the country became a founding member of today’s G7. Japan has the second largest budget for development cooperation in the world after the USA and is committed to peacekeeping measures. Today, Japan is one of the most important members of the UN, both financially and politically. A special feature is that Japan has already been elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council twelve times, more often than any other member state.
