Osaka
Japan
Secretary-General's remarks at the UN Special Day, EXPO 2025
Statements | António Guterres, Secretary-General
Statements | António Guterres, Secretary-General
Your Imperial Highness Princess Tsuguko of Takamado,
Your Excellency Mr. Takuma Miyaji, State Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Excellencies, Commissioners-General, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Ohayo Gozaimasu.
Good morning.
Thank you for being with us to celebrate United Nations Special Day at Expo 2025.
I congratulate the Japanese Government and people for hosting the Expo and bringing together more than 160 countries and organizations in this extraordinary gathering.
This is a testament to Japan’s enduring commitment to global dialogue and cooperation.
World Expos are more than exhibitions – they are invitations.
To tell our stories.
To share our hopes.
To imagine the kind of world we want to build together.
They represent a chance for us to write new chapters about the kind of world we want to create.
And perhaps no nation embodies this spirit more powerfully than Japan.
Eighty years ago this month, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by atomic bombs – a moment that changed the course of history.
What followed was not only reconstruction, but transformation.
Japan chose peace.
You chose international cooperation.
You chose to help lead the world forward.
Since joining the United Nations nearly 70 years ago, Japan has been a tireless advocate for nuclear disarmament … a generous contributor to peace … and a steadfast champion of human security and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Japan has helped shape some of the most important multilateral achievements of our time -- from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
And now, thanks to the generous support of the Japanese Government, the United Nations is here with its own Pavilion, to share our story with the world.
It is a tale I wish I could tell, one-on-one, to every person on Earth.
Although many may not realise it, the United Nations touches our lives every single day.
Every year, the UN provides food and assistance to more than 150 million people, supplies vaccines to 45 per cent of the world's children, and supports elections in more than 50 countries.
We sustain a vast global system of conventions and treaties -- covering everything from landmines to biodiversity, women’s rights to refugees, freedom of the press to clean water, with its United Nations Charter as a fundamental pillar of international law.
Then there are the victories that constitute some of humanity’s greatest achievements.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The decolonization of dozens of countries.
The eradication of smallpox.
The healing of the ozone layer.
These are not institutional achievements, they are human triumphs – proof of what is possible when nations unite around common purpose.
But, today, that multilateral project is under threat.
One of the reasons we are grateful to be here in Osaka, is that as an institution, we are not always in control of our own story.
Too often, the headlines focus on the breakdowns, not on the breakthroughs.
Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan tell the story of what happens when international norms are ignored – and humanitarian principles cast aside.
And if you allow me a personal observation. They also demonstrate that in United Nations institutions – namely in the Security Council – a reform is needed.
We need a Security Council that represents today’s world. Not the world of 1945.
Where all regions of the world are represented in a just way, and where decisions are taken to guarantee peace instead of decisions – or the lack of decisions – that allow war to prevail.
I feel sorry that for millions of people around the world, when they look at the UN they look at what is not done in the Security Council. But that is just a very small part of the UN and the one that obviously needs reform, all of the other activities of the UN, all our efforts to unite the world are sometimes forgotten, and I can guarantee you that we will do everything to make the United Nations more effective, more cost effective, more modern, and more able to respond to the enormous challenges of our time.
Unfortunately, the quiet victories of diplomacy – the wars prevented, the famine averted – rarely make the news.
But they are real. And they matter.
Nevertheless, the world of 2025 is not the world of 1945.
And the multilateral system must adapt.
From the composition of the Security Council that no longer reflects today’s realities, and largely paralysed by geopolitical divides to the unjust and unfair international financial system that does not adequately reflect the challenges faced by developing countries today.
Reform is crucial – and last year, leaders adopted the Pact for the Future – a blueprint to make multilateralism more networked, effective and responsive.
And we have also launched the UN80 initiative – to help ensure that the 80th anniversary of the UN is not only a moment of reflection, but a catalyst for reform and renewal.
We must keep striving to be more agile. More coordinated. More prepared to meet the challenges of our time – from climate chaos to Artificial Intelligence, from pandemics to rising inequalities.
Rising authoritarian practices, the barbarity of today’s conflicts, and the accelerating climate emergency must compel us to act – with urgency and ambition. And Japan has played a leading role in this action for the future of humankind and the planet.
These are times of peril. But they are also times of profound opportunity – and obligation.
The moral of the United Nations’ story is simple: humanity is strongest when we stand as one.
Expo 2025 is a celebration of that possibility.
It is a reminder that designing the future is not the job of governments alone. It is a shared responsibility that belongs to us all.
Your Imperial Highness,
Dear friends,
Thank you for being part of our story.
We are honoured to be part of yours.
Let us continue writing it together, for a world of dignity, equality, and peace.
Arigato Gozaimasu.
Thank you.
Your Excellency Mr. Takuma Miyaji, State Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Excellencies, Commissioners-General, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Ohayo Gozaimasu.
Good morning.
Thank you for being with us to celebrate United Nations Special Day at Expo 2025.
I congratulate the Japanese Government and people for hosting the Expo and bringing together more than 160 countries and organizations in this extraordinary gathering.
This is a testament to Japan’s enduring commitment to global dialogue and cooperation.
World Expos are more than exhibitions – they are invitations.
To tell our stories.
To share our hopes.
To imagine the kind of world we want to build together.
They represent a chance for us to write new chapters about the kind of world we want to create.
And perhaps no nation embodies this spirit more powerfully than Japan.
Eighty years ago this month, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by atomic bombs – a moment that changed the course of history.
What followed was not only reconstruction, but transformation.
Japan chose peace.
You chose international cooperation.
You chose to help lead the world forward.
Since joining the United Nations nearly 70 years ago, Japan has been a tireless advocate for nuclear disarmament … a generous contributor to peace … and a steadfast champion of human security and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Japan has helped shape some of the most important multilateral achievements of our time -- from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
And now, thanks to the generous support of the Japanese Government, the United Nations is here with its own Pavilion, to share our story with the world.
It is a tale I wish I could tell, one-on-one, to every person on Earth.
Although many may not realise it, the United Nations touches our lives every single day.
Every year, the UN provides food and assistance to more than 150 million people, supplies vaccines to 45 per cent of the world's children, and supports elections in more than 50 countries.
We sustain a vast global system of conventions and treaties -- covering everything from landmines to biodiversity, women’s rights to refugees, freedom of the press to clean water, with its United Nations Charter as a fundamental pillar of international law.
Then there are the victories that constitute some of humanity’s greatest achievements.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The decolonization of dozens of countries.
The eradication of smallpox.
The healing of the ozone layer.
These are not institutional achievements, they are human triumphs – proof of what is possible when nations unite around common purpose.
But, today, that multilateral project is under threat.
One of the reasons we are grateful to be here in Osaka, is that as an institution, we are not always in control of our own story.
Too often, the headlines focus on the breakdowns, not on the breakthroughs.
Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan tell the story of what happens when international norms are ignored – and humanitarian principles cast aside.
And if you allow me a personal observation. They also demonstrate that in United Nations institutions – namely in the Security Council – a reform is needed.
We need a Security Council that represents today’s world. Not the world of 1945.
Where all regions of the world are represented in a just way, and where decisions are taken to guarantee peace instead of decisions – or the lack of decisions – that allow war to prevail.
I feel sorry that for millions of people around the world, when they look at the UN they look at what is not done in the Security Council. But that is just a very small part of the UN and the one that obviously needs reform, all of the other activities of the UN, all our efforts to unite the world are sometimes forgotten, and I can guarantee you that we will do everything to make the United Nations more effective, more cost effective, more modern, and more able to respond to the enormous challenges of our time.
Unfortunately, the quiet victories of diplomacy – the wars prevented, the famine averted – rarely make the news.
But they are real. And they matter.
Nevertheless, the world of 2025 is not the world of 1945.
And the multilateral system must adapt.
From the composition of the Security Council that no longer reflects today’s realities, and largely paralysed by geopolitical divides to the unjust and unfair international financial system that does not adequately reflect the challenges faced by developing countries today.
Reform is crucial – and last year, leaders adopted the Pact for the Future – a blueprint to make multilateralism more networked, effective and responsive.
And we have also launched the UN80 initiative – to help ensure that the 80th anniversary of the UN is not only a moment of reflection, but a catalyst for reform and renewal.
We must keep striving to be more agile. More coordinated. More prepared to meet the challenges of our time – from climate chaos to Artificial Intelligence, from pandemics to rising inequalities.
Rising authoritarian practices, the barbarity of today’s conflicts, and the accelerating climate emergency must compel us to act – with urgency and ambition. And Japan has played a leading role in this action for the future of humankind and the planet.
These are times of peril. But they are also times of profound opportunity – and obligation.
The moral of the United Nations’ story is simple: humanity is strongest when we stand as one.
Expo 2025 is a celebration of that possibility.
It is a reminder that designing the future is not the job of governments alone. It is a shared responsibility that belongs to us all.
Your Imperial Highness,
Dear friends,
Thank you for being part of our story.
We are honoured to be part of yours.
Let us continue writing it together, for a world of dignity, equality, and peace.
Arigato Gozaimasu.
Thank you.