Japan is a nation that has pulled itself together economically and socially, and the key to its success in doing so has been a combination of stern discipline and heightened work ethics that has induced stability in the Japanese society. This sense of stability has resolved many of the problems that plague parts of the international community, specifically the underdeveloped nations in the Central and South American region. Japan itself has handled some of these issues on it home soil. Our nation is not being torn apart by guerrilla warfare in nations such as Colombia, but there is the criminal threat of gangs and terrorists that target not just civil properties, but civilians. Japan does not harbor terrorists, and it is expending much of its resources to the cause of inflicting punitive measures on these criminals, both in homeland and abroad.
The issue of gang and terrorist activities has permeated into the structures of both third-world nations as well some of the strongest nations in the world: Japan itself included along with the United States of America, and Colombia belonging to the former category. After the tragedy of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2000 on the World Trade Center, New York, Japan has been active in the cause of anti-terrorism as a strong ally of the US, although there is the inherent threat of being a likely target of anti-western fundamentalism. Actually, the Japanese Red Hand, a terrorist organization that has situated itself in the Middle East, Lebanon to be more exact, with the purpose of not only overthrowing the Japanese government, but also becoming an international authority. Like United States and Colombia, Japan is also affected by the destructive nature of illicit trafficking of drugs that serve as gateway to other gateway crimes and terrorist activities such as gambling, book making, money laundering, robbery, firearms trafficking, kidnapping, human trafficking and murder. These activities are not limited to political borders; they plague whole regions. A terrorist group of Japanese origin called the Boryokudans has been directly involved in such activities, but due to the stringency of the Japanese government they have been limited to an averaged number of 10 cases per year. The Boryokudan groups, along with Myanmar nationals and Vietnamese are also involved in trafficking expensive stole vehicles to Myanmar, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Russia, and with the problem of these stolen vehicles also arise the problems of drug and human trafficking. Also, another factor further abetting these specific problems have been credit card frauds cultured by criminal groups of Malayasian Chinese, Boryokudans and Hong Kong nationals who especially deteriorate the condition of illicit drug (narcotics) sales. While dealing with such problems of illegal activities on an international level, Japan recognizes the growing global market that demands more illicit drugs and firearms, and consequently the growing alliance between Transnational Criminal Organizations between the Japanese Boryokudans and Colombian cartels among other criminal groups such as the Chinese Triads and the Russian and Sicilian Mafias. To prevent more people from being gassed to death, the Japanese government has invoked the Subversive Activities Prevention Act and the Act Pertaining to Control of Organizations That Commit Indiscriminate Murder, and with the help of the international community, it has been successful in cutting off the limbs of the Japanese Yakuza and the 2500 organizations of the Boryokudans, in effort to limit human rights violation and illicit trafficking of drugs, firearms and humans.
The delegation of Japan is gravely concerned about the human rights violations and terrorist activities that plague the international community, especially concentrated in specific sources from where these anti-humanistic forces unleash, such as Colombia. Japan recognizes the ongoing civil war in this Latin American nation that has been fueled by money from kidnappings and illicit drugs and firearms sales. While commending Colombia on its successful efforts in counter-trafficking efforts of reducing coca crops with the supervision of the International Narcotics Control Strategy despite economic decline, the Japanese delegation urges the Colombian government to continue to rise above the impediments by implementing programs such as the Colombian National Police Reinsertion Program to enhance the social, economic and law enforcement initiatives that will sustain the successes. While acknowledging the civil war that is currently threatening the Colombian government, despite the efforts of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, Japan empathizes being faces by a similar situation against the Red Army threatening the Japanese government. Japan extends its hands to the Colombian government in effort to drain these terrorist organizations of their funds by cracking down on their illegal activities. While Colombia focuses on protecting its civilians and the guests to its nations from ransom kidnappings, Japan will continue to prevent terrorist groups such as the Boryokudans among others from trafficking drugs and firearms to established Colombian cartels and further fueling the inflammatory socio-political condition of the nation. As Mr. Mizukoshi Hideaki declared in the Gaiko Forum of Summer 2003, "In an increasingly globalized world, no country is an island that can hope to seal itself off from the changes, upheaval, and threats now shared in every corner of the world. No strangers to terrorism, war, and venality, Japanese can call on a variety of approaches..." As proposals to the situation in Colombia, the Japanese delegation would ask that the diplomats of the international community consider the following policy options: accept Japan's offer to help build global and regional networks specifically designed to combat terrorism by denying terrorist groups safe haven and the means to pursue their goals; place sanctions on terrorist organizations such as the FARC under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267; and every stage of the overall problem through a multidisciplinary policy. Japan does realize the problem that Colombia faces with not just terrains that are thickly vegetated, but also local farmers that are terrorized by drug lords, but proposes that they be met with strong policing efforts that will not only limit such regional barriers, but at the same time reduce unemployment and contribute to stability. As a partner in the global community, Japan offers technological aids among others to Colombia to help eradicate the problems that it faces against human rights violations, narcotics sales, terrorism and civil war.
