"Why Do We Lack Talent?"... Rising Diplomatic Concerns in Japan Amid WTO Election

Yomiuri "Korean President Moon actively supports candidate Yoo's election"
Japan lacks talent with foreign language skills and administrative experience

▲ Yoo Myung-hee (left), Head of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea, who remains a final candidate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election, and her competitor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (right) from Nigeria [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As South Korea and Nigeria compete in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretary-General election, there are internal criticisms in Japan that the country lacks domestic talent capable of challenging for the leadership of international organizations.

On the 29th, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that in the past decade, the only Japanese person appointed as the head of one of the 15 specialized UN international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), was Koji Sekimizu, who served as Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Currently, individuals from China lead four organizations, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The remaining 11 organizations are each headed by representatives from South Korea, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Singapore, Togo, Bulgaria, France, Kenya, Finland, Ethiopia, and the United States.

Japan has recently expressed concerns that China is leading multiple international organizations and attempting to establish an international order favorable to itself.

As Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s Trade Negotiation Chief at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is performing well in the WTO Secretary-General election, a sense of crisis that Japan is being outpaced by South Korea is circulating within Japanese diplomatic circles.

The Yomiuri reported that at a joint meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Foreign Affairs Research Council the previous day, when a senior official from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefed on the WTO Secretary-General election situation, a lawmaker questioned, "Why did Japan not field a candidate in this WTO Secretary-General election?"

On the 27th, the LDP’s Rule Formation Strategy Parliamentary League met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and conveyed the opinion that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Secretariat should actively support efforts to enable Japanese nationals to advance as representatives of international organizations.

The Japanese government plans to mobilize embassies worldwide to support the election of Nippon Yusei executives, former officials of the now-defunct Ministry of Posts, as Secretary-General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) scheduled for August next year.

However, the Yomiuri analyzed that the number of qualified candidates with foreign language skills and administrative experience capable of leading international organizations is limited, and it will be difficult for Japan to achieve immediate results by acting alone.

The Yomiuri also introduced that President Moon Jae-in actively moved for Yoo’s election by holding phone talks with leaders of 14 countries and sending letters to 73 countries, while pointing out that Japan’s top-level support is relatively insufficient compared to other countries.