In March, there was an unbelievable scale of devastation in Japan.  In the midst of such difficulty when many are facing hardship to survive, people wondered what art can do. There may be some who may think that it is powerless.  No, I don’t believe so. Art is not powerless.  Art, I believe, is a communication itself that tells that no one is alone; that we cry when we feel sad, that we laugh when we are happy. People stand in a long queue to see an opera or to see an art exhibition to confirm this thought.

On the occasion of The Charity Concert for Peace and Nuclear Non-Proliferation, let me offer my congratulations on your “Harmony for Peace” charity concert for peace and nuclear non-proliferation. It truly is signifi cant that a concert, with the artists from six countries that embody a passion for peace, is held at the same time as the 2010 Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Conference in New York. I pay my deepest respect to Ms.

H.E. Ms. Eleonora Valentinovna Mitrofanova, Chairperson of the Executive Board, celebrates the Harmony for Peace Concert and efforts to pursue harmonious coexistence.

Japan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, H.E. Ambassador Yukio Takasu, speaks out in support of Harmony for Peace and the Peace Concert at Carnegie Hall.