The Constitution of UNESCO was signed on November 16th, 1945 in London and came into effect the following. Japan became a Member State in 1951, when at a time it still did not belong to the United Nations until 1956. Thus, this marked Japan’s memorable step in returning to international society. Actually, UNESCO activities in Japan had already begun in 1947, and these still remain a driving force in promoting private UNESCO activities. Moreover, Japan is said to be the first country to establish a private UNESCO association.
| World Activities | Year | Activities in Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption of the Constitution of UNESCO | 1945 | |
| Enactment of the Constitution of UNESCO. Foundation of UNESCO | 1946 | |
| 1947 | Birth of the Sendai UNESCO Association, the world ' s first UNESCO association | |
| 1948 | Foundation of the Federation of National Cooperative Associations, renamed the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan in 1951 | |
| 1951 | Japan admitted to UNESCO | |
| 1952 | Proclamation of the Japanese law concerning UNESCO activities,Birth of Japanese National Commission for UNESCO | |
| Foundation of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission （IOC） of UNESCO | 1961 | Establishment of the Centre for East-Asian Cultural Studies for UNESCO |
| Launch of the Man and the Biosphere Program（MAB） | 1971 | Establishment of Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO （ACCU） |
| 1972 | The 3rd World Conference on Adult Education, Tokyo | |
| Launch of the International Geological Correlation Programme | 1973 | |
| Launch of Asian-Pacific Environmental Educational Research Seminar （APEID） | 1974 | |
| Launch of International Hydrological Program （IHP） | 1975 | |
| Launch of IOC Sub-commission for the Western Pacific（IOC/WESTPAC） | 1977 | |
| Withdrawal of USA from UNESCO | 1984 | World Convention of the Non-governmental UNESCO Movement, Sendai |
| Withdrawal of UK and Singapore from UNESCO | 1985 | |
| Launch of the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All （APPEAL） | 1987 | |
| 1989 | Launch of the “ World Terakoya Movement ” by National Federations of UNESCO in Japan | |
| World Conference on Education for All （Jomtien, Thailand） | 1990 | |
| Amendment of the UNESCO Constitution | 1991 | |
| 1992 | Ratification of the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage | |
| Launch of Management of Social Transformation （MOST） | 1994 | Launch of the Project of Literacy Resource Centres for Girls and Women （ACCU） |
| 1995 | Commemorative ceremony for the 50th anniversary of UNESCO, Tokyo | |
| 1996 | The 3rd General Conference of IOC/WESTPAC, Tokyo | |
| Return of UK to UNESCO （July 1st ） | 1997 | Regional Conference on Higher Education, Tokyo Asia/Pacific International Conference for Information Infrastructure Improvement, Tokyo Commemorative ceremony for the 50th Anniversary of Non-governmental UNESCO Movement Initiation, Tokyo |
| World Conference on Higher Education, Paris | 1998 | Asia/Pacific Environmental Education Seminar, Tokyo The 22 nd Annual Convention of the World Heritage Committee （WHC）, Kyoto |
| World Conference on Science, Budapest MATSUURA Koichiro inaugurated as Director-General |
1999 | |
| World Education Forum （Dakar, Senegal） | 2000 | |
| 2001 | Commemorative Ceremony for the 50th anniversary of Japan joining UNESCO, Tokyo | |
| 2002 | Ratification of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property | |
| Launch of the United Nations Decade of Literacy Return of USA to UNESCO （Oct 1st ） |
2003 | Closing of the East Asia Cultural Research Centre for UNESCO |
| 2004 | Ratification of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage （PDF FILE） | |
| Launch of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development （DESD） Re-election of MATSUURA Koichiro as the Director-General （~2009） | 2005 | The 12th International Bioethics Committee Meeting, Tokyo |
| 2006 | Establishment of the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management（ICHARM）, Tsukuba | |
| Return of Singapore to UNESCO （Oct 8） | 2007 | Commemorative ceremony for the 60th Anniversary of Non-governmental UNESCO Movement Initiation, Yamaguchi Proposals by the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO Regarding the Further Promotion of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Ratification of the Hague Convention |
| 2008 | International Forum on ESD Dialogue 2008 (Tokyo) | |
| Mr. MATSUURA Koichiro completed his terms of Director General of UNESCO Ms. Irina Bokova inaugurated as Director-General of UNESCO. |
2009 | National Conference for UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) in Japan has started annually |
| 2011 | Establishment of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) (Sakai City) | |
| 2012 | The Closing Event of the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention (Kyoto) | |
| Director-General Irina Bokova reappointed (～2017) | 2013 | |
| Formal announcement of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD (2015～2019) Establishment of UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development |
2014 | UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) ( Aichi-Nagoya, Okayama) |
| World Education Forum 2015 (Incheon, Republic of Korea) Adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN Summit) Education 2030 Framework for Action (2015～2030) adopted (UNESCO General Assembly) Member States of UNESCO ratified the creation of a new label “UNESCO Global Geoparks” |
2015 | |
| 2016 | Number of UNESCO Associated Schools has reached more than 1,000. Establishment of the Center for supporting ESD activities (National Center: Tokyo, Local Centers: 8) |
|
| Ms. Irina Bokova completed her terms of Director-General of UNESCO. Ms. Audrey Azoulay inaugurated as Director-General |
2017 | |
| U.S. and Israel withdraw from UNESCO in December | 2018 | |
| International Hydrological Programme (IHP) renamed Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) | 2019 | Regional Planning Workshop for the North Pacific and Western Pacific Marginal Seas towards the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Tokyo) |
| Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030) (2020～2030) | 2020 | |
| The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021～2030) | 2021 |
（Office of the Director-General for International Affairs）