Alternative to NPT

 January 24, 2015

Japan Political Pulse: Rational alternatives to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20150124p2a00m0na004000c.html

The 70-year anniversary of the end of World War II also marks 70 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Isn't it about time that Japan rectify its hypocrisy of ostensibly advocating an end to nuclear armament while turning a blind eye to the United States' deviation from official policy?

The rapid globalization of information we see today indicates that the precise expression of a trusted nation's position on an issue can resonate widely and shape international opinion. An age in which everything was decided by military and economic power is over.

The Japan-United States security alliance still comprises the foundation of Japanese defense policy. An immediate call for the elimination of all military power, including nuclear weapons, would undoubtedly be criticized as empty theorizing. But it would be worthwhile to explore new alternatives to the current nuclear non-proliferation arrangement, which has reached a stalemate due to the egos of nuclear-armed states.

The recommendations of Ronald Dore, professor emeritus at the University of London and a sociologist who is an expert on Japan, may seem bizarre at first glance, but is actually extremely rational.

Dore believes Japan should withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), declare that it will never produce nuclear weapons, and set up meetings with Germany and other countries to discuss and establish a new treaty for nuclear management.

Dore, who specializes in the social and economic structure of Japan, has long been involved in Japan since he studied at the University of Tokyo as an exchange student in 1950. According to his recent book, "Genmetsu" (Disillusionment), he's a self-proclaimed liberal who became disenchanted with Japan's spreading neoliberalism and conservative swing since the 1980s, and eventually stopped receiving invitations to symposiums held by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).

The NPT, meanwhile, went into effect in 1970, and is a treaty that prohibits nuclear armament by countries with the exception of World War II's victors: the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China. While 190 countries are party to the treaty today, India and Pakistan -- both non-member states -- are in possession of nuclear weapons. The nuclear armament of Israel, another non-member, is an open secret. North Korea withdrew from the NPT and conducted nuclear tests, and Iran is also suspected of nuclear development. In essence, the NPT has become full of holes.

The treaty operates on the unfair premise that whoever possesses nuclear weapons gains the upper hand. According to Dore's book, "Nihon no tenki" (Japan's turning point), the NPT is effectively a treaty that protects Israel's monopoly on nuclear weapons in the Middle East, which threatens peace in the region.

After a review of the NPT by signatories in 1995, the treaty was extended indefinitely. Since then, a review conference is called every five years. This April, the fifth such review conference will be held in New York.

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama called for a world without nuclear weapons in a speech he made in Prague, and received the Nobel Peace Prize later that year. However, the NPT's review conference the following year was mired in heated debate over Israel's refusal to sign the treaty. Ultimately, momentum toward nuclear disarmament was lost amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China and Obama's plummeting popularity.

In theory, if Japan were to drop out of the NPT, it would have the option of nuclear armament. In 1995, Japan's then Defense Agency explored the pros and cons of nuclear armament in light of the Cold War's end, and concluded that armament would not be advantageous. Today, the mainstream position taken by Japanese government officials and private intellectuals is to support the U.S. and prevent the NPT from collapse.

Dore, however, says that doing so is akin to riding a bicycle whose tires have worn down and are about to go flat without searching for a shop that will exchange the threadbare tires for new ones.

Being skeptical of the NPT does not automatically mean that one is for nuclear armament. Non-nuclear states taking the initiative to build a new nuclear management structure would amount to "taking a panoramic perspective of the world map" and engaging in "proactive peace," both of which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocates.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, a fellow non-nuclear state, is set to visit Japan in March. (By Takao Yamada, Senior Expert Writer)

January 24, 2015(Mainichi Japan)