Kishida in New York

April 27, 2015

Foreign minister to call for world leaders to visit Hiroshima, Nagasaki at U.N. conference 

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201504270053

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Japan plans to call for nations with atomic weapons to ensure transparency of their nuclear arms programs and move forward with nuclear disarmament talks at a United Nations conference in New York that opens April 27.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, a Hiroshima native, is also expected to encourage the political leaders of other nations to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the ninth conference to review the U.N. Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings (of Hiroshima and Nagasaki),” Kishida, who will speak at the conference, has said.

“As a foreign minister from a bombed city, I will work to take matters one, or even two, steps further toward a nuclear-free world.”

It will mark the first time in 10 years that a Japanese foreign minister attends the conference, which will be held at U.N. headquarters through May 22.

Although Japan has been calling for a reduction of nuclear weapons, it is dependent on the nuclear umbrella provided by the United States in terms of national security. Amid heightened tensions with North Korea and China, Tokyo is expecting to increase its reliance on a nuclear deterrent.

“Japan’s proposal is a realistic suggestion that would not undermine Washington’s nuclear deterrence,” a Foreign Ministry official said.

Ahead of the gathering, the Japanese government submitted to the United Nations a proposed agreement compiled at a meeting of the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Initiative, a group of 12 non-nuclear nations, including Japan.

The document requires that countries with atomic weapons ensure transparency of their programs and begin multilateral talks for nuclear disarmament.

It will be the first time for Japan to participate in the NPT meeting as a member of a multilateral group.

Although Austria is seeking support for a statement demanding a ban of nuclear weapons, the Japanese government intends to remain noncommittal to maintain consistency with its security policy.

“It may appear to be a roundabout way, but our approach is actually more realistic and practical," Kishida has said of Japan's stance.

But many atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha, are dissatisfied with Tokyo’s noncommittal attitude.

“Hibakusha hope the way will be paved toward nuclear abolition while they are still living,” said Terumi Tanaka, the 82-year-old secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations). “Efforts by the Japanese government are insufficient.”

The organization sent a delegation of 50 hibakusha and their supporters to the United States to coincide with the start of the U.N. conference.

(This article was written by Hajimu Takeda in Tokyo and Takashi Okuma and Shohei Okada in New York.)