Japan commits itself to implement the 2009 political declaration and plan of action. We hope that the CND, as the central policy making body, will lead strongly in the prep process towards the UNGASS. We want to expose our efforts to implement the political declaration, in particular in demand and supply reduction efforts.

Japan has taken measures for prevention and rehabilitation to reduce drug abuse. We have strengthened advertising and education programmes among youth. We have developed cognitive behaviour therapy.

Taking into account the seriousness of NPS, we have taken emergency measures to prohibit new substances and strengthen our legal framework. We have succeeded in dismantling almost all NPS rings in our country. But trafficking continues in our country – it is difficult to control NPS without cooperation with other countries. We appeal to those countries to take appropriate measures to control NPS.

We have concerns about the recent threat of methamphetamines, as they are produced with the use of precursors. African criminals have increasingly been involved in the production of methamphetamines. We are working on sharing best practice to tackle international criminal organisations.

Japan has so far implemented programmes in Myanmar and Afghanistan on alternative development. We welcome Germany’s efforts, which are organising a side event tomorrow.

We are a member of the CND since 1992, and we want to share our contributions:

• We have submitted a number of resolutions on NPS issues.
• We organised events on methamphetamines with UNODC
• We have implemented projects with UNODC
• We have supported the Global SMART Programme since its creation in 2008
• We have provided around 5 million US dollars in alternative development and capacity building
• In West Africa, we have conducted projects for countering narcotics.

We will continue our efforts towards the 2016 UNGASS.

Illicit drug trafficking and money laundering is important for terrorist groups. 2 Japanese were murdered by ISIL. We want to continue to fight against terrorism in the Middle East and Africa. At a meeting last month, we agreed with other countries to continue to fight against financial crime.

In June 2014, WHO ECDD submitted its recommendations around the scheduling of some substances. We usually welcome these recommendations, but we must also take into account the economic and social impacts of those recommendations.

To conclude, I reiterate our appreciation of the role of the CND as the leading agency for countering the world drug problem. We also value the work of UNODC on these efforts.