Hiroshima Mayor requests Japan’s national government to reconsider participation in Meeting of States Parties to TPNW
Dec. 24, 2021
by Junji Akechi and Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writers
On December 23, Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui called on Japan’s national government to reconsider participation in the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as an observer, in response to the government’s cautious stance regarding attendance at the meeting. Mr. Matsui said “The government should not abandon the option of participating in the meeting,” which is scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, in March next year.
At a press conference, Mayor Matsui pointed out that Norway and Germany, member states to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), had announced they would participate in the meeting as observers, despite their reliance on the U.S. “nuclear umbrella.” Mr. Matsui said, “The environment has changed to the point where participating in the meeting as an observer is feasible.” He added, “There is still time to reconsider the possibility,” with consideration also paid to the results of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, which will be held in January next year.
Representing an electoral district in Hiroshima Prefecture, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has assumed a cautious approach to the participation issue, asserting the necessity of first forging a relationship of trust with the United States. It has also been reported that the U.S. Biden Administration formally requested Mr. Kishida to not participate in the meeting. Mr. Matsui said, “I hope the Prime Minister, while seeking to build a relationship of trust with the United States, will continue pursuing a path until the very end that also allows participation in the meeting.”
The TPNW has been ratified by 58 countries and regions. Among European nations, Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland, which are not NATO member states, have publicly expressed they would participate in the meeting as observers.
(Originally published on December 24, 2021)
On December 23, Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui called on Japan’s national government to reconsider participation in the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as an observer, in response to the government’s cautious stance regarding attendance at the meeting. Mr. Matsui said “The government should not abandon the option of participating in the meeting,” which is scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, in March next year.
At a press conference, Mayor Matsui pointed out that Norway and Germany, member states to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), had announced they would participate in the meeting as observers, despite their reliance on the U.S. “nuclear umbrella.” Mr. Matsui said, “The environment has changed to the point where participating in the meeting as an observer is feasible.” He added, “There is still time to reconsider the possibility,” with consideration also paid to the results of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, which will be held in January next year.
Representing an electoral district in Hiroshima Prefecture, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has assumed a cautious approach to the participation issue, asserting the necessity of first forging a relationship of trust with the United States. It has also been reported that the U.S. Biden Administration formally requested Mr. Kishida to not participate in the meeting. Mr. Matsui said, “I hope the Prime Minister, while seeking to build a relationship of trust with the United States, will continue pursuing a path until the very end that also allows participation in the meeting.”
The TPNW has been ratified by 58 countries and regions. Among European nations, Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland, which are not NATO member states, have publicly expressed they would participate in the meeting as observers.
(Originally published on December 24, 2021)
