Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, my fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemenâ¦
There is an old Japanese saying - "Kawara mo migakeba tama" which translates into "If you polish even a tile it becomes a gem". Even though Japan has endured several hardships and it has been turned into what is but a shadow of the former giant, it can still be polished by hard work and dedication into something beautiful.
Wouldn't it be a horrible world if people would receive less pay because of old traditions and culture? Wouldn't it be a horrible world if large groups of people don't get a basic education, which we hold as a right for every human? Wouldn't it be a horrible world if your chances to get promoted or get elected to a political occupation would be greatly diminished if you were a certain kind of human? Well, the sad truth is that that is the case all around the world for 50% of the population; I'm of course talking about the oppression done upon to the female part of our species.
No less should they get paid the same, educated the same and have the same chances of success as any male out there.
By no means do we claim to be the ideal country when it comes to gender equality, in fact Japan is extremely far behind when it comes to equality among the genders compared to other industrialized countries. However we've taken several measures in order to improve. We are not here to blame, nor are we here in order to point fingers at what is right and what is wrong. We are here because we believe that here in this building in order to achieve great things. Throughout this world's history it has been proven that countries who...