Politics & Government

Record High Number of Japanese Working at U.N. Organizations

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The U.N. headquarters building in New York

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:35 JST, September 3, 2023

The number of Japanese employees at organizations affiliated with the United Nations rose to the highest level ever at 961 as of the end of 2022, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The number of Japanese working at 43 U.N. organizations rose by five from a year ago.

The government aims to raise the number to 1,000 by 2025 and plans to continue assisting Japanese nationals getting jobs at U.N. entities.

The number of women was 597, accounting for 62%. Ninety-one were executive officials, and 53 among them were women.

The ministry is utilizing the so-called JPO Program to dispatch young professionals, called Junior Professional Officers, as personnel. Under the program, U.N. organizations accept such people on the condition that the governments of their countries shoulder the labor costs.

“We want to assist people who seek to work in international organizations and take on challenges,” said Hikariko Ono, foreign press secretary of the ministry.