Prime Minister Kishida points finger at Russia for failure to reach agreement at NPT conference
Aug. 28, 2022
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
On August 27, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Russia is to blame for the inability to reach a consensus,” a remark that was in reference to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference ending in a second consecutive failure to adopt a final document.
While recuperating from COVID-19 at his official residence in Tokyo, Mr. Kishida responded online from his office to questions posed by media organizations. He had spoken at the review conference as the first Japanese prime minister to do so, but he expressed his “extreme disappointment” that a final document had not been adopted. Mr. Kishida explained to the media that Russia had been the only country to oppose the final draft document, in contrast with member nations such as the United States and other nuclear weapons’ states, which had provided their support for the draft document. “Many countries share the recognition that maintaining and strengthening the NPT is in the interest of the entire international community,” emphasized Mr. Kishida.
The prime minister also stressed the importance of the summit meeting of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is planned to be held in the United States in September; the meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons, to be held in Hiroshima in November; as well as the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations), which will be held in Hiroshima in May next year. Mr. Kishida said he would “continue to strive” to build momentum for the realization of a “world without nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on August 28, 2022)
On August 27, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Russia is to blame for the inability to reach a consensus,” a remark that was in reference to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference ending in a second consecutive failure to adopt a final document.
While recuperating from COVID-19 at his official residence in Tokyo, Mr. Kishida responded online from his office to questions posed by media organizations. He had spoken at the review conference as the first Japanese prime minister to do so, but he expressed his “extreme disappointment” that a final document had not been adopted. Mr. Kishida explained to the media that Russia had been the only country to oppose the final draft document, in contrast with member nations such as the United States and other nuclear weapons’ states, which had provided their support for the draft document. “Many countries share the recognition that maintaining and strengthening the NPT is in the interest of the entire international community,” emphasized Mr. Kishida.
The prime minister also stressed the importance of the summit meeting of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is planned to be held in the United States in September; the meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons, to be held in Hiroshima in November; as well as the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations), which will be held in Hiroshima in May next year. Mr. Kishida said he would “continue to strive” to build momentum for the realization of a “world without nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on August 28, 2022)
