Commentary: Prime Minister’s speech at NPT Review Conference sticks to realistic approach with world at nuclear crossroads
Aug. 2, 2022
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
New York — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has become Japan’s first prime minister to attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. He has always held up the ideal of a “world without nuclear weapons” but insisted on adopting realistic measures in moving toward that goal, citing the harsh security environment the world faces today. The presentation of his action plan to the international community was meaningful, given that Mr. Kishida, who was elected from the A-bombed Hiroshima, serves as head of the government of the country that suffered the atomic bombings. However, he has not sufficiently responded to the opinions of A-bomb survivors, who have consistently maintained that the world will know security only by eliminating nuclear weapons as soon as possible.
Because the prime minister places great importance on the NPT framework, by which nuclear weapons states are to also be engaged in the effort to explore measures aimed at nuclear disarmament, he communicated with people in his inner circle shortly after assuming office last fall about his desire to attend the conference. His wish was evidenced in his use of the term ‘guardian of the NPT’ in the speech he delivered on August 1. The action plan he announced included measures that were not adopted by previous administrations, including establishment of a United Nations fund to encourage young people to visit the A-bombed cities and convening of a summit meeting related to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Nevertheless, the measures are nothing more than an extension of what the national government has long advocated. Symbolic of this is the fact that Mr. Kishida did not make any mention in his speech about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). That is the same treaty he once called “an off-ramp to a world without nuclear weapons.” It cannot be denied that he was taking into consideration the United States’ criticism of the treaty. To reverse that trend and increase momentum toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, Japan must join the TPNW and encourage nuclear weapons states to do so as well.
The prime minister’s attendance and speech at the meeting carry more weight now with the international community at a crossroads, marked by the invasion of Ukraine by the nuclear superpower Russia, which could ultimately lead to a nuclear arms buildup rather than nuclear disarmament. The A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki hold out hope that the prime minister, with equal enthusiasm, will assert the truth that the only ultimate security guarantee is the abolition of nuclear weapons by all nations and exercise his diplomatic skills to make that goal a reality.
(Originally published on August 2, 2022)
New York — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has become Japan’s first prime minister to attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. He has always held up the ideal of a “world without nuclear weapons” but insisted on adopting realistic measures in moving toward that goal, citing the harsh security environment the world faces today. The presentation of his action plan to the international community was meaningful, given that Mr. Kishida, who was elected from the A-bombed Hiroshima, serves as head of the government of the country that suffered the atomic bombings. However, he has not sufficiently responded to the opinions of A-bomb survivors, who have consistently maintained that the world will know security only by eliminating nuclear weapons as soon as possible.
Because the prime minister places great importance on the NPT framework, by which nuclear weapons states are to also be engaged in the effort to explore measures aimed at nuclear disarmament, he communicated with people in his inner circle shortly after assuming office last fall about his desire to attend the conference. His wish was evidenced in his use of the term ‘guardian of the NPT’ in the speech he delivered on August 1. The action plan he announced included measures that were not adopted by previous administrations, including establishment of a United Nations fund to encourage young people to visit the A-bombed cities and convening of a summit meeting related to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Nevertheless, the measures are nothing more than an extension of what the national government has long advocated. Symbolic of this is the fact that Mr. Kishida did not make any mention in his speech about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). That is the same treaty he once called “an off-ramp to a world without nuclear weapons.” It cannot be denied that he was taking into consideration the United States’ criticism of the treaty. To reverse that trend and increase momentum toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, Japan must join the TPNW and encourage nuclear weapons states to do so as well.
The prime minister’s attendance and speech at the meeting carry more weight now with the international community at a crossroads, marked by the invasion of Ukraine by the nuclear superpower Russia, which could ultimately lead to a nuclear arms buildup rather than nuclear disarmament. The A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki hold out hope that the prime minister, with equal enthusiasm, will assert the truth that the only ultimate security guarantee is the abolition of nuclear weapons by all nations and exercise his diplomatic skills to make that goal a reality.
(Originally published on August 2, 2022)
