On Dec. 18, 1956, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu stood before the General Assembly of the United Nations to make a speech marking Japan's admission to the organization. In this address he stated that as the only nation to suffer the ordeal of atomic bombing, Japan hoped with all its heart that humanity would be able to escape this dreadful fate and free itself from the unbearable sense of fear that nuclear weapons engendered.

He stated that Japan and Asia were joined in an inseparable relationship, both politically and economically, and shared the same indivisible destiny. He closed with a proclamation that the very substance of Japan's politics, its economy and its culture was the product of a fusion between the Occident and Orient over the course of the past century -- that Japan was, in a sense, a bridge between the East and West.

In the half-century since Japan joined the United Nations, it has used this forum to deliver many important messages and to take part in numerous constructive activities. I would like to take a look at the 50 years of Japanese membership in the U.N., focusing in particular on the content of speeches given before the General Assembly, to illustrate what our country has sought -- and still seeks -- to achieve through this world body.