In an incident that remains fresh in our memories, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on charges of assaulting a hotel maid in 2011 and was succeeded by Christine Lagarde, the then Minister of Finance of France. At the time of her appointment, China came forward with a condition, calling for the appointment of IMF Special Advisor Min Zhu, the former Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, as the fourth Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. This is the first time for China to acquire an important post in the IMF, the symbol of capitalism and market economy.

China’s acquisition of this post certainly reflects its growing presence in the world economy as witnessed by the fact that China now has the world’s second largest gross domestic product and is number one in terms of foreign reserves. However, it is also a reflection of the political power that China was able to wield by ultimately supporting Lagarde in the election for IMF managing director.

The number of important posts that a country holds in leading international organizations is an indicator of national power, and influence and status in the international community. Moreover, by gaining a seat in the rule-making process, national interests can be promoted. That is why, in pursuit of such seats, the countries of the world engage in masterfully executed diplomatic games.

An international organization can be defined as an organization whose membership is comprised of sovereign states. It is an organization that is founded on a treaty and possesses a standing secretariat.

The United Nations (UN) stands as the only universal international organization in the world today. Additionally, there are a number of specialized organizations and institutions whose scope of membership is limited to certain countries and regions. These include the World Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Energy Agency, the World Trade Organization, the European Union, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and others.

Let us consider the question, “Why are international organizations important?” International organizations possess legitimate power that is buttressed by universality (the participation of a broad range of nations) and expertise (a collection of the world’s best available information and knowledge). On the other hand, there are certain diplomatic objectives (national interests) that cannot be realized by Japan’s sole efforts, but which may be achievable through the deliberation and resolution of international organizations. Herein lies the importance of international organizations. To put it in very simple terms, a UN resolution provides legitimacy. This is why the United States, in preparing to attack Iraq, focused its diplomatic efforts on the UN until the very last moment in order to secure legitimacy for its military action.

On the other hand, when an international organization possessing legitimacy and authority adopts a certain policy or establishes certain international rules, its member states are called on to uphold and abide by these decisions. If a decision or resolution that is unfavorable to Japan is adopted, Japan has no choice but to abide by the decision. That is why the processes of agenda setting and rule making are so extremely important. Hence, the capabilities and number of people involved in these processes, and the positions that they hold are one of the most critical points in diplomatic power.

Japan should utilize the legitimate power of international organizations to strategically pursue its diplomatic objectives. For the realization of this purpose, this “Action” proposes the pursuit of the following policies.

1. Activate Diplomatic Initiatives for Gaining Permanent Seat on Security Council

Among all international organizations, it is the UN that enjoys legitimacy supported by the most extensive authority and universality. It is critically important for Japan to enhance its presence and position in the UN.

In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution in response to the North Korean missile launch, but it was because Japan was serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council that a resolution condemning North Korea was adopted. If Japan had not been there, it is doubtful whether the Security Council would have gone so far as to issue a condemnatory resolution. The Japanese government viewed the missile launch as an extremely grave threat to the peace and security of the international community and a serious challenge to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Japan was able to immediately submit a draft resolution to the Security Council and start working closely with related countries to move the resolution forward.

During the years of the Koizumi Cabinet, Japan joined forces with Germany, India, and Brazil to gain a permanent seat on the Security Council. However, the so-called “Plan A” met with stiff opposition from China and South Korea and was rejected by majority vote in the UN General Assembly meeting of September 2005. With the defeat of this initiative, plans for reforming the Security Council have stalled. As a result, Japan’s most important diplomatic goal of joining the Security Council has yet to be realized.

The world today faces numerous global-scale problems, such as the environment and climate change, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, conflict resolution and peace building, terrorism, poverty, and infectious diseases. These have emerged as some of the most critical challenges facing the international community, and they need to be addressed by cross-border cooperation and through international organizations. However, with the end of the Cold War and the increasing importance of emerging countries, building and maintaining an international order has become increasingly complex. This is exactly why Japan must actively participate in maintaining world peace and international order. This is not the time for Japan to be inward-looking. The government must adopt a proactive stance in voicing its opinion and pursuing important international posts. This line of action can have a very significant impact on the globalization of the Japanese people as well.

Needless to say, Japan must show to the world that it is willing and capable of performing the functions of a permanent member of the Security Council. For this purpose, Japan must simultaneously implement measures that are essential to bolstering its international cooperation activities. (Examples include increasing ODA and actively participating in peacekeeping operations.)

The important thing is for Japan to actively contribute to the world and to gain the position, power, and influence that corresponds to its level of contribution.

2. Launch “Project for Training the Sadako Ogatas of the Future”

Sadako Ogata, the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (at the time of writing in November 2011), served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees over three terms and a total of ten years during the 1990s. During her years in office, she made a tremendous contribution and left a remarkable record of service. She went on a personal inspection tour of war-torn Sarajevo wearing a bulletproof vest. In addressing the problem of Kurdish refugees, she for the first time presented the international community with the definition of “internally displaced persons”.

After leaving this post, she went on to serve as the Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Japan on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan and then as the Co-Chair of the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan. She also worked energetically in the field of human security, and through these activities kept contributing to the international community.

In the several times that I have participated in the Davos Annual Meetings, I realized that Sadako Ogata is held in extremely high regard on the international arena. She is on a first-name basis with the UN Secretary General and with many other top leaders and experts throughout the world. There is no doubt that her contributions have significantly enhanced the reputation of Japan in the international community.

Japan needs to train and educate many people who will walk in her path of service to international organizations. There is a crying need for the launch of a “Sadako Project”. Of course, we are happy to note that there are other people who have distinguished themselves in the field of international service, such as Mieko Nishimizu, former vice president of the World Bank. But the truth is that the number of such people is very small.

Japan enjoys strong ties with the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB, and other international organizations. However, a common problem for Japan is the serious imbalance between the size of its financial contributions and its under-represented human resources. Due to this weakness, Japan is unable to exercise a full measure of leadership in agenda setting and rule making, which as a consequence undermines, its presence and influence in the international arena.

Take the UN as an example. During 2010–2012, Japan paid for 12.530 percent of the UN ordinary budget, which placed it second only to the United States. (Contributions of other countries were the United Kingdom (4th) at 6.604%, France (5th) at 6.123%, China (8th) at 3.189%, Russia (15th) at 1.602%.) Compare this to the number of staff members working at the UN Secretariat as of June 2009. The total number of Japanese professional staff members at the UN was 111, which placed Japan in fifth. This is far short of the 312 calculated by the UN to be the desirable range of Japanese staff members.

The government should act to strengthen various programs with an aim to increase the number of Japanese nationals working in international organizations. One such program is the roster registration system managed by the Recruitment Center for International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), designed to identify outstanding human resources and to encourage them to apply for such jobs. Another possibility is to expand the “Junior Professional Officer Program”, also operated by MOFA. Under this program, MOFA recruits motivated young Japanese people and dispatches them to international organizations, mostly for a period of two years at MOFA’s expense for the purpose of allowing them to build up work experience leading to full-time employment in such organizations.

3. Government Support for Gaining Top Posts at International Organizations

Earlier, I mentioned China’s Min Zhu who was appointed Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. Min Zhu is also a Foundation Board member of the World Economic Forum and is fast becoming a star at the Davos Annual Meetings. Fluent in English and a regular speaker in the keynote sessions, he presents the Chinese position in a low-key manner and is able to neutralize a lot of the criticism that is directed against China. Needless to say, appointment to a top post at an international organization requires a high level of personal capacity, but to rise as high as Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, it is just as necessary to have strong backing from one’s government.

In the case of Japan, Sadako Ogata is a star presence. However, individuals like her are few and far between, and Japan has only a handful of people at the top echelons (defined here as persons with the rank of assistant secretary general and above) of the UN and other leading international organizations. The most prominent among these are Hisashi Owada, Judge and President of the International Court of Justice, Yukiya Amano, Director General of the IAEA, and Kiyotaka Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. Moreover, in most cases, these individuals are former Japanese bureaucrats, which is not to say that being from the bureaucracy is a problem. Rather, the point is that people from a broad range of careers should be participating in this race and endeavoring to rise to top positions.

There is another idea worth pursuing as a Japanese approach, and that is for the private sector to actively dispatch personnel to international organizations. This could take the form of secondment with the option of eventually transferring to an international organization to pursue a full-time career there. Comparing Japan to other countries, it concerns me to note that we do not see former prime ministers and former cabinet ministers putting their wealth of experience to work on the global stage. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Yoriko Kawaguchi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heizo Takenaka, former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. But their numbers have to be greatly increased. The goal should be to develop a pool of human resources worthy and capable of being nominated for top positions at the IMF, the UN, and other leading international organizations whenever an opening appears.

4. Actively Locate International Organizations in Japan

There are only two UN agencies headquartered in Japan: the United Nations University and the International Tropical Timber Organization. Efforts should be made to bring more international organizations to Japan and to hold an increasing number of international conferences here so they could be turned into opportunities for Japanese diplomacy.

In this “Action,” I have discussed how to accumulate and utilize legitimate power. The key to this is twofold: developing human resources, and taking a proactive stance in going out into the world. It is very important for government policies to reflect a strong commitment that Japan will actively and substantially contribute to world peace and the solution of global problems.. It is such a commitment to action that will bring words of gratitude from the world, will result in a permanent seat on the Security Council, and will lead to Japan’s acquisition of legitimate power through international organizations.

Let us develop human resources, set sail into the world, and make our contribution to humanity. This course of action will doubtlessly enhance Japan’s standing in the community of nations.