Students, others in Hiroshima, Nagasaki participate in discussion to assess Japan’s nuclear disarmament policy one year after TPNW enters into force
Jan. 23, 2022
by Taiki Yomura, Staff Writer
On January 22, precisely one year after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon (TPNW) entered into force, the Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, composed of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations and citizens groups in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, held an online event to consider and talk about the nuclear disarmament efforts being made by Japan’s national government.
High school and college students in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well and Keiko Nakamura, an associate professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, discussed and handed out grades for the policy put in place by Japan’s national government. Participants in the event voiced a variety of opinions including about how the Japan government seems to be seeking the approval of the United States rather than paying attention to A-bomb survivors as well as the idea that Japan should take part in the meeting of States Parties to the TPNW and serve as a bridge between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states. Japan to this point has been unwilling to participate, even as an observer, in the meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW, scheduled to be held in Vienna, Austria.
Following the discussion, three members of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) introduced the example of Germany, among others, which has announced its intent to participate in the states parties meeting as an observer even though the nation enjoys protection under the U.S. “nuclear umbrella.”
(Originally published on January 23, 2022)
On January 22, precisely one year after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon (TPNW) entered into force, the Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, composed of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations and citizens groups in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, held an online event to consider and talk about the nuclear disarmament efforts being made by Japan’s national government.
High school and college students in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well and Keiko Nakamura, an associate professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, discussed and handed out grades for the policy put in place by Japan’s national government. Participants in the event voiced a variety of opinions including about how the Japan government seems to be seeking the approval of the United States rather than paying attention to A-bomb survivors as well as the idea that Japan should take part in the meeting of States Parties to the TPNW and serve as a bridge between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states. Japan to this point has been unwilling to participate, even as an observer, in the meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW, scheduled to be held in Vienna, Austria.
Following the discussion, three members of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) introduced the example of Germany, among others, which has announced its intent to participate in the states parties meeting as an observer even though the nation enjoys protection under the U.S. “nuclear umbrella.”
(Originally published on January 23, 2022)
