UNITED NATIONS, September 23. /TASS/. The United Nations should remove the term "enemy states" from its Charter, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

In her speech, Takaichi recalled that a 2005 UN World Summit resolution expressed a determination to remove references to "enemy states" from the UN Charter. "Under that resolution, these references should be removed," the Japanese prime minister said. Takaichi stressed that Japan was proud of its contribution to the UN cause and to peace and prosperity over the past 70 years.

The term "enemy state" is mentioned in Article 53 of the UN Charter. It refers to "any state which during the Second World War has been an enemy of any state signatory to the present Charter." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier recalled that the UN Charter enshrined the outcome of World War II, noting that Japan was initially designated as an "enemy state" in the document and joined the UN after atoning for its militaristic policy of genocide against many peoples. He stressed that upon joining the UN, Japan, by signing and ratifying the Charter, recognized its principles "in their entirety and in their interconnection." Commenting on Lavrov’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said China supported his statement on the need not to forget that Japan had been designated as an "enemy state" in the UN Charter.