I am pleased to inform you that I have been appointed the 7th Chair of the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP).

JPFP is a parliamentary caucus that takes pride in its history and tradition of having been the first country in the world to propound “population and sustainable development” and of promoting collaboration with parliamentarians from around the world.

To bring about a society in which no one is left behind, we will address global challenges by organically integrating the three concepts of the SDGs, human security, and population; further strengthening solidarity with parliamentarian organizations around the world; and putting efforts into advancing soft power. We will, moreover, actively promote dialogue with women and with the next generation of youth.

I would sincerely like to ask for your guidance and support.

Hon. Yoko KamikawaFormer Minister of Justice
Chair of JPFP

It was 40 years ago, in 1974, that a group of Japanese parliamentarians established the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP), the world’s first non-partisan parliamentary group working on population and development issues, under the conviction that sustainable development cannot be achieved without addressing population issues. Their far-sighted, visionary leadership extended beyond the national boundary to assist other countries to form a parliamentary group of this kind, affirming that parliamentarians, as representatives of the people, should act as mediators between the government and the people to solve these issues.

（PDF：16.8MB）

At the national level, JPFP holds general assembly meetings and executive members’ meetings, and its committees meet according to their topics of interest. The committees invite experts to engage them in discussions on a chosen theme, in order to deepen understanding on population issues. JPFP makes policy recommendations to ministries and agencies on the importance of global population issues and supports the governmental contribution to alleviate population issues.

Members of JPFP are frequent participants at international conferences on population and development. JPFP is an active participant at parliamentary meetings and study visits in Asia, Africa and Arab regions held by its Secretariat, the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), every year and the activities of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD).

JPFP took a leading role at the International Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (ICPPD) that met in conjunction with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt in 1994. At this ICPPD, a forum of parliamentarians on population and development for the African and Arab regions was established as a result of the successful encouragement of JPFP.

Following up on the successful conference at Cairo, JPFP maintains its high level presence working in conjunction with the UN-sponsored conferences. An example of the outcomes was that The Hague Declaration adopted at the International Forum of Parliamentarians (IFP) on ICPD Review was explicitly reflected in the UN General Assembly resolution.

JPFP sends a study mission to selected countries. The purpose is to inspect field activities of organizations such as UNFPA, IPPF, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in order to review the progress and find disincentive to achieve population and development projects. Then JPFP often recommends to improve the effectiveness of cooperation and assistance. The study visits also contribute to the strengthening of bilateral cooperative relations and revitalization of parliamentarians’ activities through exchanges with host government officials and legislative counterparts.

Also, JPFP invites legislators from countries visited by its members through the study visit programme in order to inspect advanced health facilities and welfare institutions and to exchange views with members of JPFP. Japan was the first non-Western country to achieve demographic transition. Members of Parliament in Asia and elsewhere convey the benefits from orientating themselves with the background and history of Japan’s population policies and paradigm for development in their national programmes.