61234    As Mr. Kuyama points out, Japanese are being asked by the world to play a more active role in international society.

61235    This hope is increasing year by year.

61236    Such hopes are, I think, being well responded to at present by the activities of Mr. Akaishi Yasushi, who as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina is directing every effort to the task of ending a civil war, and by the activities of Mrs. Ogata Sadako, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who is taking the lead in coordinating assistance to refugees in Rwanda and other parts of the world.

61237    However, for Japan to play a still wider role in international society as we approach the 21st century, we can't do otherwise hope that there will come to the fore an ever larger number of kokusaijin ("international persons") who like the two will be active in top positions of international organizations.

61238    The question is, in what ways will we educate and train these kokusaijin?

61239    "In order to pass muster in international society, first of all one must be good at communication. In pursuit of this, a minimum requirement is to acquire a mastery of foreign languages, especially English. Then it is desirable that one be able to look at things from a broad, global perspective, and to be able to associate with people in a natural manner."

61240    These are conditions for becoming a kokusaijin as put forward by Mr. Kuyama.

61241    Surely to be counted among those who are at the shortest distance from meeting these conditions are persons working in international organizations as "international civil servants."

61242    According to a study by the Foreign Ministry's International Organizations Personnel Center, as of January of last year there were 841 Japanese working in major international organizations, which was an increase of 113 persons compared to two years before.

61243    However, the number of such Japanese employees is very small when compared with the numbers of employees of international organizations who come from other major advanced countries.

61244    As of the end of June of last year, there were only 91 Japanese employed at the UN Secretariat.

61245    Reasons for the relatively small number of international civil servants include such things as insufficient linguistic skills and dissatisfaction over job conditions like salary levels which may be lower than what one might aspire to on the domestic scene.

61246    However, the circumstance that the number of Japanese employees is much less than allotted quotas also means that chances for employment in international organizations are more available than would otherwise be the case.

61247    As part of the effort to cultivate more kokusaijin, we need to see more initiatives, with cooperation from both governmental and private sectors, to increase the numbers of Japanese international civil servants.

61248    Of course "international civil servants" are not the only types of kokusaijin.