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.

61249    There are now about 300 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) which take part in international cooperation efforts.

61250    NGOs were among the first on the scene in providing assistance to Rwandan refugees.

61251    At international conferences dealing with global issues, NGOs are widening their scope of action, often participating side-by-side with governmental delegations.

61252    It is becoming more and more important to develop NGOs, which are one major source for the supply of internationally minded people, into solid and reputable citizens' organizations, in this way cultivating capable and promising kokusaijin.

61253    It should be noted that there has been a steep increase in the number of persons seeking employment with the government's Kokusai Kyoryoku Jigyodan (Japan International Cooperation Agency), which is engaged in promoting technological cooperation and exchanges of people between and "developing countries," and there are today over 5000 applicants responding to each recruitment campaigns of the youth-focused Seinen Kaigai Kyoryokutai (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers ).