Delegates from the House of Councillors attend the 151st IPU Assembly in Geneva

October 19-23, 2025

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The 151st IPU Assembly was held in Geneva, Switzerland for five days from Sunday, October 19th, to Thursday, October 23rd, 2025. Mr. FUJII Kazuhiro represented the House of Councillors at the ASEAN+3 Meeting, the Asia-Pacific Group Meeting, the Governing Council, and the Plenary Session.

During a plenary session discussion on the subject of "Upholding humanitarian norms and supporting humanitarian action in times of crisis," Mr. Fujii delivered a speech in English and called for unity among members of the international community to bring an end as soon as possible to the tragic situation in Gaza and Ukraine, where many precious lives, including civilian lives, have been lost.

Also during the plenary session, there were several members of other parliamentary delegations who mentioned the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the threat of nuclear retaliation with regard to the situation in Ukraine. And although Mr. Fujii was the only member of the Japanese Diet to participate in this IPU Assembly, his presence as a representative of the only country to have suffered atomic bombings provided an opportunity to clearly demonstrate Japan's position on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.

In between meetings, Mr. Fujii held active discussions with parliamentary delegations from around 40 countries, including those from the Philippines and the United Kingdom. The parliamentary delegations that Mr. Fujii met with included those from countries that in recent years have hosted visits by official House of Councillors delegations as well as countries that have been invited to visit Japan by the House of Councillors. Participation in this IPU Assembly was an extremely important opportunity to promote further exchange between the House of Councillors and parliaments of other countries.

Mr. Fujii met the Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands, under which Lake Nakaumi and the Yonago Waterfowl Park in Mr. Fujii’s home prefecture of Tottori, are registered as a Wetland of International Importance. He also visited the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, where he exchanged views on the efforts of these organizations and areas in which Japan can contribute.