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Cherry tree donated by Japanese diplomat growing in Sochi

SOCHI, Russia - A woman who heads a botanical garden in Sochi, Russia, shows on Jan. 28, 2014, a cherry tree that grew from a nursery tree donated by Japan's Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. Under-Secretary-General.

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U.N. disarmament confab kicks off to discuss nuke proliferation crisis

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. under secretary general, delivers a keynote speech as the 18th round of a U.N. disarmament conference begins in Yokohama on Aug. 21, attended by government representatives and researchers from 15 countries, including the United States and Iran.

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(2)Donors pledge $4.5 bil. to help rebuild Sri Lanka

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi (R), Japan's envoy in charge of Sri Lankan issues, speaks at a press conference June 10 at a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward after the end of the two-day Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka. U.S. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage sits beside him.

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(1)Donors pledge $4.5 bil. to help rebuild Sri Lanka

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi (L), Japan's envoy in charge of Sri Lankan issues, shakes hands with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka ended June 10 at a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. At right is U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

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(3)Tokyo aid meeting on Sri Lanka begins without rebels

TOKYO, Japan - Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (L) and Japanese government representative Yasushi Akashi (R) talk during a reception at a conference to help rebuild Sri Lanka at a Tokyo hotel on June 9.

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Akashi briefs reporters on Sri Lanka peace talks

HAKONE, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, representative from the host country Japan at the Sri Lanka peace talks in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, briefs reporters on the development of the talks on March 19, the second day of the four-day talks.

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Sri Lankan peace talks begin in Japan

HAKONE, Japan - Anton Balasingham (L), chief negotiator of Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and Japanese government representative Yasushi Akashi pose for a photograph prior to the start of four-day peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 18.

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Panel recommends amending law to strengthen SDF peace mission

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. Undersecretary General who heads a private advisory panel to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hands a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Dec. 18. The report called for strengthening the Self-Defense Forces' functions in international peace activities.

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Japanese envoy optimistic on Sri Lanka peace prospects

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Japanese government envoy Yasushi Akashi (fore) is in talks with leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in northern Sri Lanka on Nov. 8. Back in Colombo later in the day, Akashi expressed strong optimism on the prospects of ending Asia's longest-running ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. ''Everybody is astonished by the degree of progress of the Norwegian-brokered efforts to end two decades of war costing over 65,000 lives,'' Akashi told a press conference at the end of his six-day visit.

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Akashi meets Sri Lanka president to discuss peace process

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi (L) meets Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga at her office in Colombo on Nov. 5. Akashi, a former U.N. deputy secretary general, discussed Sri Lanka's peace talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels and how Japan can help rebuild the war-battered country.

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Akashi vows peace-building work in Sri Lanka

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, a former U.N. undersecretary general, vowed in a recent interview with Kyodo News to try his best as Japan's representative to Sri Lanka to help broker peace and reconstruction work there.

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Japan taps Akashi as envoy to Sri Lanka peace talks

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. undersecretary general for public information, disarmament affairs and humanitarian affairs, whom Japan has decided to appoint as its representative to Sri Lanka peace talks. Akashi, 71, also served as U.N. representative in Cambodia and special envoy to former Yugoslavia.

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Former Japanese U.N. official Akashi meets Karzai in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan - Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (L) shakes hands with Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Feb. 13. Akashi, who currently serves as head of a Hiroshima Prefecture research panel on peace policies, is visiting Kabul on a fact-finding mission on behalf of Hiroshima Prefecture to assess how Hiroshima could help war-torn Afghanistan.

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Obuchi vows efforts for world free of nuclear weapons

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (C) vows July 26 to make efforts toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons. Photo shows Obuchi receiving at his office a proposal adopted July 25 by an international forum of experts on nuclear disarmament from Nobuo Matsunaga (R), former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., along with Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. undersecretary general. Matsunaga and Akashi co-chaired the Tokyo forum.

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Forum urges U.S., Russia to cut nuke weapons to 1,000

TOKYO, Japan - A Japan-initiated international forum of experts on nuclear disarmament adopts at the end of its three-day session on July 25 a proposal urging the United States and Russia to reduce the number of their strategic nuclear weapons to 1,000 warheads each. The photo shows Yasushi Akashi (R), the forum's co-chairman, meeting the press after the end of the conference at a Tokyo hotel.

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Citizens seek conclusion of treaty banning nuke weapons

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, co-chairman of the Tokyo Forum of international experts on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, speaks at an anti-nuclear citizens' meeting for nuclear abolition as a panelist.

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Akashi speaks in Beijing about Kosovo

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (C) delivers a speech about the United Nations' role in peacekeeping in Kosovo at a Beijing hotel on June 14.

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Obuchi sees Japanese role in Kosovo reconstruction

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (L) briefs Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on May 13 on his talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade earlier this week. Obuchi told Akashi Japan wants to play a major role in the reconstruction of Kosovo after peace is restored in the embattled Yugoslav province.

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Akashi talks with Milosevic

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (L) holds talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic at the presidential guesthouse in Belgrade on May 10. Akashi visited the Yugoslav capital in a private capacity, apparently in an effort to help end the Kosovo crisis, drawing on his previous experience as a special U.N. representative to former Yugoslavia.

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Akashi announces candidacy for Tokyo gubernatorial race

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi on Feb. 19 formally declared his candidacy for the April 11 Tokyo gubernatorial election as an independent. He made his declaration one day after he accepted a request from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for him to run in the race. The photo shows Akashi making a speech before the LDP members of the metropolitan assembly after his press conference on his candidacy.

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Akashi joins Tokyo governor race

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi tells reporters outside his Tokyo home Thursday Feb. 18 he has decided to run in April's Tokyo gubernatorial election.

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Kakizawa decides to run for Tokyo governor

Former Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa, after some twists, tells reporters Wednesday Feb. 17 he will run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in April. Leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to which Kakizawa belongs, had pressed him to give up to let former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi run on an LDP ticket.

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Akashi postpones meeting with Obuchi over Tokyo Gov. race

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi postpones a scheduled meeting Feb. 15 with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi following former Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa's declaration of his candidacy for the Tokyo gubernatorial race. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has asked Akashi to join the race on the LDP ticket. Akashi was expected to tell Obuchi at the meeting whether he will accept the nomination and run in the April 11 gubernatorial election. Reporters are seen surrounding Akashi Feb. 15 in front of his home in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

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LDP's Kakizawa declares candidacy for Tokyo governor

Former Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa announces Feb. 14 he intends to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial race on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ticket, defying his party's decision to field former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi. He is surrounded by reporters after meeting with Yoshinobu Shimamura, head of the party's Tokyo chapter, at LDP headquarters.

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U.N. disarmament confab kicks off to discuss nuke proliferation

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. under secretary general, delivers a keynote speech as the 18th round of a U.N. disarmament conference begins in Yokohama on Aug. 21, attended by government representatives and researchers from 15 countries, including the United States and Iran. (Kyodo)

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Akashi speaks in Beijing about Kosovo

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (C) delivers a speech about the United Nations' role in peacekeeping in Kosovo at a Beijing hotel on June 14.

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Akashi postpones meeting with Obuchi over Tokyo Gov. race

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi postpones a scheduled meeting Feb. 15 with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi following former Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa's declaration of his candidacy for the Tokyo gubernatorial race. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has asked Akashi to join the race on the LDP ticket. Akashi was expected to tell Obuchi at the meeting whether he will accept the nomination and run in the April 11 gubernatorial election. Reporters are seen surrounding Akashi Feb. 15 in front of his home in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

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(3)Tokyo aid meeting on Sri Lanka begins without rebels

TOKYO, Japan - Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (L) and Japanese government representative Yasushi Akashi (R) talk during a reception at a conference to help rebuild Sri Lanka at a Tokyo hotel on June 9. (Kyodo)

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Sri Lankan peace talks begin in Japan

HAKONE, Japan - Anton Balasingham (L), chief negotiator of Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and Japanese government representative Yasushi Akashi pose for a photograph prior to the start of four-day peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 18. (Kyodo)

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Former Japanese U.N. official Akashi meets Karzai in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan - Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (L) shakes hands with Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Feb. 13. Akashi, who currently serves as head of a Hiroshima Prefecture research panel on peace policies, is visiting Kabul on a fact-finding mission on behalf of Hiroshima Prefecture to assess how Hiroshima could help war-torn Afghanistan.

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Tokyo-Beijing forum

Yasushi Akashi, a former U.N. undersecretary general, speaks to the press following the conclusion of the 13th Tokyo-Beijing Forum in Beijing on Dec. 17, 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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(2)Donors pledge $4.5 bil. to help rebuild Sri Lanka

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi (R), Japan's envoy in charge of Sri Lankan issues, speaks at a press conference June 10 at a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward after the end of the two-day Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka. U.S. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage sits beside him. (Kyodo)

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(1)Donors pledge $4.5 bil. to help rebuild Sri Lanka

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi (L), Japan's envoy in charge of Sri Lankan issues, shakes hands with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka ended June 10 at a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. At right is U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. (Kyodo)

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Akashi briefs reporters on Sri Lanka peace talks

HAKONE, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, representative from the host country Japan at the Sri Lanka peace talks in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, briefs reporters on the development of the talks on March 19, the second day of the four-day talks. (Kyodo)

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Panel recommends amending law to strengthen SDF peace mission

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. Undersecretary General who heads a private advisory panel to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hands a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Dec. 18. The report called for strengthening the Self-Defense Forces' functions in international peace activities. (Kyodo)

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Japanese envoy optimistic on Sri Lanka peace prospects

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Japanese government envoy Yasushi Akashi (fore) is in talks with leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in northern Sri Lanka on Nov. 8. Back in Colombo later in the day, Akashi expressed strong optimism on the prospects of ending Asia's longest-running ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. ''Everybody is astonished by the degree of progress of the Norwegian-brokered efforts to end two decades of war costing over 65,000 lives,'' Akashi told a press conference at the end of his six-day visit. (Kyodo)

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Akashi meets Sri Lanka president to discuss peace process

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi (L) meets Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga at her office in Colombo on Nov. 5. Akashi, a former U.N. deputy secretary general, discussed Sri Lanka's peace talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels and how Japan can help rebuild the war-battered country. (Kyodo)

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Akashi vows peace-building work in Sri Lanka

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, a former U.N. undersecretary general, vowed in a recent interview with Kyodo News to try his best as Japan's representative to Sri Lanka to help broker peace and reconstruction work there. (Kyodo)

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Japan taps Akashi as envoy to Sri Lanka peace talks

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. undersecretary general for public information, disarmament affairs and humanitarian affairs, whom Japan has decided to appoint as its representative to Sri Lanka peace talks. Akashi, 71, also served as U.N. representative in Cambodia and special envoy to former Yugoslavia. (Kyodo)

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Obuchi vows efforts for world free of nuclear weapons

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (C) vows July 26 to make efforts toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons. Photo shows Obuchi receiving at his office a proposal adopted July 25 by an international forum of experts on nuclear disarmament from Nobuo Matsunaga (R), former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., along with Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. undersecretary general. Matsunaga and Akashi co-chaired the Tokyo forum.

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Obuchi vows efforts for world free of nuclear weapons

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (C) vows July 26 to make efforts toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons. Photo shows Obuchi receiving at his office a proposal adopted July 25 by an international forum of experts on nuclear disarmament from Nobuo Matsunaga (R), former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., along with Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. undersecretary general. Matsunaga and Akashi co-chaired the Tokyo forum.

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Forum urges U.S., Russia to cut nuke weapons to 1,000

TOKYO, Japan - A Japan-initiated international forum of experts on nuclear disarmament adopts at the end of its three-day session on July 25 a proposal urging the United States and Russia to reduce the number of their strategic nuclear weapons to 1,000 warheads each. The photo shows Yasushi Akashi (R), the forum's co-chairman, meeting the press after the end of the conference at a Tokyo hotel.

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Citizens seek conclusion of treaty banning nuke weapons+

TOKYO, Japan - Yasushi Akashi, co-chairman of the Tokyo Forum of international experts on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, speaks at an anti-nuclear citizens' meeting for nuclear abolition as a panelist.

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Obuchi sees Japanese role in Kosovo reconstruction

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (L) briefs Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on May 13 on his talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade earlier this week. Obuchi told Akashi Japan wants to play a major role in the reconstruction of Kosovo after peace is restored in the embattled Yugoslav province. ==Kyodo

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Akashi talks with Milosevic

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi (L) holds talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic at the presidential guesthouse in Belgrade on May 10. Akashi visited the Yugoslav capital in a private capacity, apparently in an effort to help end the Kosovo crisis, drawing on his previous experience as a special U.N. representative to former Yugoslavia. ==Kyodo

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Akashi announces candidacy for Tokyo gubernatorial race

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi on Feb. 19 formally declared his candidacy for the April 11 Tokyo gubernatorial election as an independent. He made his declaration one day after he accepted a request from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for him to run in the race. The photo shows Akashi making a speech before the LDP members of the metropolitan assembly after his press conference on his candidacy. ==Kyodo

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Akashi joins Tokyo governor race

Former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi tells reporters outside his Tokyo home Thursday Feb. 18 he has decided to run in April's Tokyo gubernatorial election. ==Kyodo

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Kakizawa decides to run for Tokyo governor

Former Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa, after some twists, tells reporters Wednesday Feb. 17 he will run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in April. Leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to which Kakizawa belongs, had pressed him to give up to let former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi run on an LDP ticket. ==Kyodo

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LDP's Kakizawa declares candidacy for Tokyo governor

Former Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa announces Feb. 14 he intends to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial race on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ticket, defying his party's decision to field former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi. He is surrounded by reporters after meeting with Yoshinobu Shimamura, head of the party's Tokyo chapter, at LDP headquarters.