The Head of State expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to address the National Diet.
- The Legislative Assembly of your country has great historical traditions of democracy and makes an essential contribution to prosperous democratic development of the country. Currently, Japan is the leader; it is the third economy in the world, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The President of Kazakhstan emphasized that the Japanese people’s diligence and their desire to improve contribute to the effective growth.
- Japanese philosophy of "kaizen" has made it possible not only to achieve managerial and technological heights, but to also firmly establish itself among universal human values. I can say that the mentality of the Japanese nation is close and in tune with the philosophy of the Kazakh people. We are united by community of challenging, sometimes tragic destiny of our peoples. Kazakhstan and Japan have learned to own cost the destructive power of weapons of mass destruction, he said.
Nursultan Nazarbayev pointed to measures taken by Kazakhstan in strengthening international security, and stressed the importance of joint efforts to build a world free of the nuclear threat.
- We see the establishment of a global anti-nuclear movement as the crucial task. Our proposed "ATOM" project has this purpose. I invite our Japanese friends to support that initiative. The UN General Assembly at the initiative of Kazakhstan on December 7, 2015 adopted a resolution on the Universal Declaration on organization of the world free of nuclear weapons. Japan has become one of the coauthors of our proposed UN resolution, which proclaims August 29 - the day when I signed the Decree on Testing Area Closure - as the International Day against Nuclear Tests, the President of Kazakhstan said.
The Head of State reminded that Kazakhstan and Japan have begun to co-chair the 9th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In this regard, the parties adopted two important political statements on the early entry into force of that document.
The President of Kazakhstan also noted the "World. XXI Century" Manifesto, which was voiced in March the current year at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
- There, I shared my vision of how to come to a world free of war and conflict. And I have taken the decision on initiation of the international prize for a nuclear-free world and global security. It is intended to express our appreciation to the world leaders and politicians, whose activity is directed at consolidation of the peaceful coexistence of nations on our planet, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The President stressed that currently the risk of using nuclear weapons is higher than ever since the end of "Cold War".
- The world is sliding into a new nuclear age, potentially more dangerous and unpredictable. One of the greatest challenges of the XXI c. is the threat of nuclear terrorism and illicit trafficking in nuclear and radioactive materials. Collapse of confidence as never before among global leaders leads to degradation of safeguards to prevent the use of nuclear weapons. Today, more than ever, the political will of world leaders is required to turn back the tide of these negative trends, the President of Kazakhstan said.
The Head of State has placed greater focus on the issues of regional security, noting the importance of confidence-building between the Asian countries and the need for transformation of the CICA into the Organization for Security and Development in Asia.
- From next January 1 Kazakhstan, the first among the countries of Central Asia, will proceed to duties of a non-permanent UN Security Council member during 2017-2018. Coincidence of timing of Kazakhstan and Japan’s participation in the Security Council in 2017 opens up additional opportunities for cooperation, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The President of Kazakhstan noted that the fate of many Japanese is bound with Kazakhstan.
- We have lively recollection of the resistance of Japanese prisoners of war caught alone with the harsh conditions of survival in the Soviet Kazakhstan. We are offering all the necessary assistance to those who is seeking for making clear the fate of their loved ones, the Head of State said.
In view of this, Nursultan Nazarbayev has told the Japanese parliamentarians the story of a war prisoner Ahiko Tetsuro, who stayed in Kazakhstan after release from the camp. Having been in his homeland, he still came back to our country, where he lives with his family.
The President of Kazakhstan noted that currently the major powers are promoting a number of integration projects in Eurasia.
- Organization of a peaceful, stable, prosperous and economically strong Eurasia will be beneficial to all, the Head of State said.
Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that our country is already working on the promotion of that idea. In particular, implementation of a number of infrastructure projects, activities of pairing the EAEU and China's "One Belt and One Road" initiative and the initiative of "EAEU - European Union" dialogue has been announced.
The President of Kazakhstan stated that during the 25 years of independence our country has carried out ambitious reforms, effecting the transition from a planned administrative system to the market, and at the time being has entered upon the most important institutional reforms, adopting the Nation's Plan "100 Specific Steps".
- Plan implementation makes provision for creating Kazakhstan of XXI century with a more balanced political system, intelligent civil society institutions and the knowledge-based economy. All that will allow our country to meet challenges of the global negative trend and enter the world’s top thirty most developed countries. We look forward to working with Japan to achieve that ambitious goal, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The Head of State noted that Kazakhstan is the largest trade partner of Japan in Central Asia.
- We are interested in building mutually beneficial cooperation in high technology areas, utilization of advanced technology and know-how of your country. We are calling the Japanese companies to cooperate in implementation of Kazakhstan's program of industrial-innovative development and a large-scale campaign on privatization. I am confident that the spirit of strategic partnership and mutual understanding between our two countries will lead our relations to a new level, the President of Kazakhstan said.
In conclusion, the Head of State noted that his current visit is taking place on the eve of the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between our countries.
- I am convinced that effective coordination and constructive trust are meant to be the key to rapprochement in Asia. The nations of Kazakhstan and Japan can be collectively instrumental in well-doing of our region and promoting the ideals of peace and reconciliation in the international arena, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
