Japan's UN Membership Anniversary
Historical AnniversariesWhat Is Japan's UN Membership Anniversary?
December 18th marks Japan's admission to the United Nations. On this day in 1956, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved Japan's application for membership. Coming eleven years after the end of the Second World War, it was a turning point in Japan's return to the international community.
Why It Took Eleven Years
Japan's membership did not follow immediately from its application. Admission requires a recommendation from the Security Council, and the process was shaped by the international situation of the time. The Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration was signed in 1956, after which membership went through.
- Date: December 18, 1956
- Event: the UN General Assembly unanimously approved Japan's membership
- Significance: a milestone in Japan's return to the international community, eleven years after the war
- The United Nations: an international organization founded in 1945, after the Second World War
Japan Was Not a Founding Member
Japan joined eleven years after the organization was created, rather than at its founding. Membership has kept growing since -- from 51 states at the outset to more than 190 today. That expansion is itself a record of how the postwar world changed.
Tips for Marking This Day
- Look up the UN's agencies and what each of them does
- Read about the roles Japan has taken on at the UN
- Check what the acronyms of international bodies in the news actually stand for
- Look for work at your organization that connects to international efforts
A Dividing Line in Postwar Japan
December 18, 1956, was the day Japan was recognized as a member of the international community. Falling at the close of the year, it is a date worth remembering as a prompt to look back on the postwar decades.