Statement by Mr. Yasushi Takase, Minister, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in Geneva
The Second Meeting of the International Conference on Chemicals Management
15 May 2009, Geneva

Thank you, Mr. President,

It is my great honor to speak here on behalf of the Government of Japan on the issue of Chemical Management. I would like to touch very briefly on three specific points.

My first point is the implementation of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, SAICM. The Government of Japan established an Inter-ministerial Committee in 2006 and since then has been taking concrete measures for its implementation. For example, the Government submitted to the Diet a draft amendment on our chemical control law in order to introduce a new system for risk assessment and management for over 20,000 industrial chemicals. The Diet has just approved the amendment this week. But our efforts are not only confined within our borders; we are also trying to extend our assistance to Asia-Pacific regional members with a view to achieving 2020 targets worldwide.

My second point is health and environment, especially children’s health. Last April, the G8 Environment Ministers met in Syracuse, Italy. There, the Japanese Environment Minister, Mr. Tetsuo Saito took a lead in introducing children’s health as one of the issues for global action. He proposed, among other things, internationally concerted efforts for large-scale epidemiological studies concerning children’s health and the environment. The G8 ministers had an in-depth discussion and identified several urgent actions, including a phase-out of lead in paint and collaboration on research related to children’s health. We believe that these concrete actions identified by the G8 Ministers can be and should be followed by all the governments and stakeholders of the international community.

Last but not the least, action on mercury. As the country that experienced the so-called “Minamata Disease,” a serious neurological disorder caused by methyl mercury poisoning, my Government sincerely wishes for strengthened global measures for mercury management. In this regard, we welcome the decision by the UNEP Governing Council last February to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a legally binding instrument on mercury. My Government will actively participate in the INC process as we are doing in the preparatory Open Ended Working Group as a bureau member. At the same time, my Government will continue to contribute to the Global Mercury Partnership by taking a lead, for example, in mercury waste management.

Mr. President,

I would like to conclude my statement by calling for support from governments and stakeholders for the concrete actions I mentioned to prevent damage to human health caused by hazardous chemicals.

Thank you very much.