ISSJ 50th Aniversary Celebration Guest Greeting

 

CHIKARA SAKAGUCHI, MD. PhD.
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare

I am Chikara Sakaguchi, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. I would like to give a few words for the 50th anniversary ceremony of International Social Service Japan (ISSJ).

I sincerely congratulate ISSJ on its the 50th anniversary this year; I have learned that ISSJ was established in 1952 as the Japan-US Joint Children’s Relief Committee.

ISSJ has continued to work on supporting intercountry adoption and offering counseling services beyond national boundaries as an organization to give a helping hand to the children who have had the problem in welfare and human rights. In addition, it has recently been offering consultation and assistance to the refugees and those applying for refugee recognition, as well as training internationally useful social workers. I highly respect all of the staff of ISSJ including chief director Honorable Seishiro Etoh for the effort of these activities for the people with various forms of problems.

The problems children may face have been diversified and internationalized these days along with the rapid expansion of international human exchanges and the increase of international marriages and the immigrants and the refugees. Under these circumstances, international activities of ISSJ will surely contribute to the promotion of social welfare and will play on greater role in the future.

In the area of child welfare, one of the important tasks has been how to deal with rapidly declining population of children. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has just documented “Measures Plus One against declining population of children" on the 20th this month; “Measures Plus One” means one more step against the recent declining population of children.

Previous measures put importance on public nursing of children in the viewpoint of enabling families both child-raising and continuing professions. " Measure Plus One” have began to focus also on the way how males work, community support of nursing children, creating support of the succeeding generation in social security system, and enhancing self-support of younger generation.

I believe those measures against declining child population must be carried out in order to maximize the happiness of children. I have heard ISSJ works vigorously for helping children with the firm principle “caring hands beyond the boundaries". I feel strongly that we have to pay attention to putting “loving children” top priority whenever we think about the measures to the child.

I pray for ISSJ in this opportunity of its 50th anniversary to take on further roles of international social welfare activities based on its remarkable achievements for the past 50 years.

Also, I ask all staff of ISSJ to make further efforts in the future so that children may grow up in good health.

Thank you very much for paying attention.