Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has urged the world to reaffirm the importance of the rules-based international order amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and criticized Russia for threatening to possibly use nuclear weapons in the conflict.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Kishida also said that specific reforms to the world body will be vital in restoring the credibility of the Security Council, which has been further jeopardized after veto-wielding permanent member Russia invaded its neighboring country earlier this year.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine has shaken "the foundation of the international order" stipulated in the U.N. Charter, said Kishida, the first Japanese leader to give a speech in-person at the assembly's annual general debate session since 2019.