Conference of the Peace Studies Association of Japan opens in Tokyo
Jun. 21, 2010
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
On June 19, a conference organized by the Peace Studies Association of Japan opened in Tokyo under the theme of a world without nuclear weapons. On the first day, researchers discussed the direction of nuclear abolition following the conclusion of the NPT Review Conference which recently closed at the end of May.
Nobumasa Akiyama, an associate professor at Hitotsubashi University whose expertise is international politics, praised the final document adopted at the conference for touching on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. He called for the idea of the inhumanity of nuclear arms to be fully broached and for the nuclear weapon states to align with the deepening and shared understanding that nuclear weapons are not needed to maintain security.
Akira Kawasaki, executive committee member of Peace Boat, a Tokyo-based NGO, focused on the fact that the language concerning negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention, echoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's proposal, was included in the final document. He stressed that civil society must now work hard to realize such negotiations by leveraging Mr. Ban's visit to Hiroshima this August.
Tadashi Kimiya, an associate professor of the Graduate School of Arts and Science at the University of Tokyo, whose expertise is the political diplomacy of Korea, said that it is important to guarantee the security of North Korea in order for that nation to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Eight subcommittees, including one on peace education, were also active on this day. The conference will run until June 20.
(Originally published on June 20, 2010)
On June 19, a conference organized by the Peace Studies Association of Japan opened in Tokyo under the theme of a world without nuclear weapons. On the first day, researchers discussed the direction of nuclear abolition following the conclusion of the NPT Review Conference which recently closed at the end of May.
Nobumasa Akiyama, an associate professor at Hitotsubashi University whose expertise is international politics, praised the final document adopted at the conference for touching on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. He called for the idea of the inhumanity of nuclear arms to be fully broached and for the nuclear weapon states to align with the deepening and shared understanding that nuclear weapons are not needed to maintain security.
Akira Kawasaki, executive committee member of Peace Boat, a Tokyo-based NGO, focused on the fact that the language concerning negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention, echoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's proposal, was included in the final document. He stressed that civil society must now work hard to realize such negotiations by leveraging Mr. Ban's visit to Hiroshima this August.
Tadashi Kimiya, an associate professor of the Graduate School of Arts and Science at the University of Tokyo, whose expertise is the political diplomacy of Korea, said that it is important to guarantee the security of North Korea in order for that nation to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Eight subcommittees, including one on peace education, were also active on this day. The conference will run until June 20.
(Originally published on June 20, 2010)
