# 【ニュース小話 #233】高市首相、国連総会で初の演説。込められたメッセージを考察

- Show: News Connect あなたと経済をつなぐ5分間 #ニュースコネクト
- Published: 2026-09-27
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1608666340_aea905a43feb.html
- Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/81fb5eec/podcast/play/126343251/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-8-26%2Fdee64f0c-7c12-7e37-cf6a-98b07003fe91.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

Prime Minister Takaichi (高市) delivered her first address to the UN General Assembly, pledging support for the ICC and the rule of law while stopping short of directly criticizing the Trump administration's sanctions against ICC prosecutors. A US-China summit ended with little beyond ceremony, Trump banned CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House, and long-term interest rates in Japan, the US, and the UK surged to levels not seen in decades — a packed week reviewed with a guest commentator.

## What this episode answers

### How did Prime Minister Takaichi handle the Trump administration's ICC sanctions in her UN speech, and what did she emphasize instead?

She made no direct reference to the Trump administration's sanctions on ICC prosecutors while still explicitly affirming Japan's consistent support for the ICC and adherence to international adjudication norms; she emphasized a free and open international order based on the rule of law instead of confronting the US.

### What is the significance of UN Secretary-General Guterres saying that the UN Secretary-General has 'no real power'?

It is a candid admission that the UN Secretary-General has no army, intelligence services, or money and only soft power and convening ability, which exposes the structural problem that a permanent Security Council member like Russia can invade a country and then veto sanctions against itself, undermining the rule-of-law approach Takaichi championed.

### How were the issues of AI regulation, trade, and Taiwan resolved — or not — at the US-China summit?

AI regulation remained unresolved with agreement still pending; on trade, Treasury Secretary Bessent agreed to extend the trade truce set to expire in November as the one concrete outcome; on Taiwan, both sides simply agreed to maintain the status quo, making the summit largely ceremonial.

### How did the courts and media outlets respond to President Trump's decision to ban reporters from the White House?

CNN, MSNBC, and Politico immediately sued after being banned, and on September 24 a federal court issued an emergency injunction on Fifth Amendment due process grounds, prompting the administration to pivot to revoking press credentials instead; other major outlets, including Fox News, responded by boycotting official presidential events in solidarity.

### What impact could decades-high long-term interest rates in Japan, the US, and the UK have on household finances and government budgets?

Rising long-term rates mean much higher borrowing costs for households, such as total repayments exceeding 100 million yen on a 50 million yen loan given US 30-year mortgage rates above 7%, while in Japan bond interest payments threaten to squeeze the government budget alongside social security costs, with a generation raised on zero interest rates now facing bubble-era-like high rates.

## Article

## PM Takaichi's First UN Address — The Messages Behind the ICC and the Enemy States Clause

During the UN General Assembly High-Level Week held in New York from September 18 to 28, Prime Minister Takaichi held a Japan-US summit with President Trump on September 22, confirming cooperation on economic security, strengthening the Japan-US alliance, and faithfully implementing the Japan-US tariff agreement. On September 23 she delivered Japan's general debate address, with international monetary and exchange-rate conditions reportedly also on the agenda.

The centerpiece of her speech was a commitment to "a free and open international order based on the rule of law." She stated explicitly that Japan "consistently supports" the International Criminal Court (ICC) and reaffirmed adherence to international adjudication norms, including the International Court of Arbitration and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Notably, she made no direct reference to the Trump administration's recent decision to sanction ICC prosecutors. The guest commentator assessed her approach as: "She addressed what had to be addressed. But she avoided explicitly pushing back against the United States — exactly as one would have expected."

Takaichi also called for the urgent removal of the "enemy states clauses" still embedded in the UN Charter and urged expansion of both permanent and non-permanent seats on the Security Council. These remarks were directly relevant to China's ongoing effort to promote a "Japan as new militarism" narrative across Asian countries. Analysts described the speech as one that put Japan's "historical legitimacy — its moral high ground — front and center: more than 70 years since the war, Japan has not gone to any country and harmed anyone."

## The UN's 'Declaration of Powerlessness' and the Limits of the Moral High Ground

Also drawing attention at this year's General Assembly was Secretary-General Guterres, who is set to complete his ten-year term at the end of 2026. Having declared "power" as the theme for this year, Guterres told reporters at a press conference that the UN Secretary-General has "no real power" — no army, no intelligence services, no money — only soft power and the ability to convene nations. He publicly admitted the institution's own limits.

The guest commentator took this as a candid acknowledgment, while framing the structural problem plainly: "Russia, a permanent Security Council member, invaded Ukraine and then vetoed the sanctions resolution against itself. That is the most obvious example — and Takaichi actually used the word 'invasion' in English in her speech." At the same time, it raised a deeper structural question: the very approach Takaichi championed — rule of law and the moral high ground — is losing its effectiveness in a world where rule by force is on the rise.

## The US-China Summit: A Ceremony of 'Managed Competition'

The summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping on September 24 was summed up simply as "ceremonial." On the closely watched issue of AI regulation, agreement remained pending. The one concrete outcome was Treasury Secretary Bessent's agreement to extend a trade truce that had been set to expire in November. On Taiwan, both sides settled on "maintaining the status quo."

The meeting was essentially a forum for the two powers to reaffirm their broad framework of competing while managing the rivalry themselves. What caused particular waves was a moment in which Xi stated that "the US and China once fought fascism together" — and Trump reportedly agreed. This narrative erased the historical fact that the China of that era was the Republic of China, a separate state from the current People's Republic — a "battle of historical narratives" that surfaced in direct connection with Takaichi's call to remove the enemy states clauses.

## Trump's Media Ban and the Rise of 'Trump TV'

On September 18, President Trump barred CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House, citing deliberate coverage of "fake news." All three outlets immediately sued, and on September 24 a federal court issued an emergency injunction on Fifth Amendment due process grounds. The administration pivoted by revoking press credentials rather than the access ban itself, and the legal battle continues.

Other major outlets responded with the extraordinary step of boycotting official presidential events — a solidarity that, as the guest put it, extended "even to Fox News." Meanwhile, Trump launched his own around-the-clock live broadcast on YouTube. The guest noted the irony — "the pattern of someone driven off broadcast TV starting a YouTube channel" — while warning that "the leader of the world's largest military power trying to eliminate the media's role as a check on power fits perfectly into the same pattern of great-power domination and the collapse of international cooperation. It is deeply alarming."

## Global Rate Surge — What Decades-High Yields Mean

The week's other major story was a synchronized global rise in interest rates. The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.13%, its highest since 2007. Japan's long-term rate reached 3.075%, a level not seen since 1996 — roughly 30 years. In the UK, the 30-year gilt yield jumped to 5.85%, the highest since 1998, putting the Barnam government in a bind between public backlash against cumulative tax hikes of £68 billion over the past two years and a deteriorating fiscal position. The Bank of England's Deputy Governor signaled on September 24 that further rate hikes remain on the table depending on how the Middle East conflict evolves.

With US 30-year fixed mortgage rates exceeding 7%, the guest noted that "borrowing 50 million yen means total repayments of over 100 million yen." Rates have risen roughly 1 percentage point since the Israel-Iran tension flared, with a slowdown in housing starts flagged as an early warning sign for the broader economy. In Japan the situation was described as "a generation that grew up with zero interest rates experiencing the high rates their parents knew during the bubble era," with bond interest payments threatening to squeeze the budget alongside social security costs. With great-power coercion, media suppression, and rising rates all converging at once, the guest sounded a clear alarm: "The scenario we most want to avoid is nationalism combining with this economic environment."

## Takeaways

- PM Takaichi explicitly backed the ICC and the rule of law in her UN address but avoided any direct criticism of US sanctions against the court, walking a careful line between moral positioning and avoiding friction with Washington.
- The US-China summit ended with nothing beyond an extension of the trade truce, cementing a 'managed competition' framework between the two powers, while Xi's claim that China and the US fought fascism together — met with Trump's apparent agreement — brought a battle over historical narratives into the open.
- With the US 10-year yield at 5.13%, Japan's long-term rate at 3.075%, and the UK 30-year gilt at 5.85%, major economies are simultaneously hitting multi-decade highs, and US mortgage rates above 7% are emerging as a potential trigger for an economic slowdown.