Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for stronger disaster reduction measures at a summit of the Group of 20 major economies on Monday.
On the first day of the two-day summit in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, Ishiba also said there is no time to lose to deal with large-scale natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons.
He mentioned his administration's plan to create a government agency dedicated to disaster reduction, adding his country wants to share insights and experiences with other G20 members for improving shelter conditions and stockpiling supplies.
Ishiba said that the U.N. Security Council, seen as dysfunctional amid Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, remains unable to deal with current issues.
He also asked for concrete discussions to increase the permanent and nonpermanent members of the Security Council.
Ishiba emphasized the importance of maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law, while expressing serious concern about the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
He underlined the need for G20 members to pursue common ground, not division or confrontation, in light of their differing positions on the Russia-Ukraine war.
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