NPT Review Conference 2022: Hiroshima Prefectural government holds symposium at UN headquarters about reduction of reliance on nuclear deterrence, discussing motives and strategies of nations wanting to be superior to others.
Aug. 4, 2022
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
NEW YORK- On August 2, the Hiroshima Prefectural government held a symposium to pursue measures to reduce reliance on nuclear deterrence, the doctrine that a nation uses its own or other nation’s nuclear forces for maintaining security, at UN headquarters in New York where the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference is underway. While Russia has repeatedly given threats of nuclear weapons use after its invasion of Ukraine, Hiroshima prefectural governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said, “We have to stop the dangerous situation in which the nuclear deterrence theory thrives.”
Facilitated by Nobumasa Akiyama, professor at Hitotsubashi University who specializes in nuclear disarmament and arms control, four experts from western and Asian nations served as panelists for the symposium. Tytti Erasto, a senior researcher at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) stressed that nuclear deterrence involved risk that could lead to a nuclear war. Ms. Erasto argued that each nation should seek a “minimization of deterrence,” which means to reduce its degree of reliance on nuclear deterrence to as close to zero as is possible.
One expert pointed out that each nation’s psychological motive or political strategy in seeking to have more advantages over other nations is also operating in the background when it comes to the deepened reliance on nuclear deterrence. After the symposium, Mr. Yuzaki said, “Because we have challenges, we want to gather wisdom from many people so we can put them into concrete actions to overcome those challenges.”
The symposium was organized by the prefecture and the Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), consisting of organizations in public and private sectors, such as the prefectural government. Two youth ambassadors of HOPe attended the symposium, too. One of the ambassadors, Manami Yamazaki, 17, a third-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima Senior High School living in Higashihiroshima, said, “I was inspired very much because I was able to listen to opinions from people in different nations about nuclear deterrence. I am going to pass down my great-grandmother’s experience of the atomic bombing as the fourth-generation A-bomb survivor.” Seven members of the prefectural assembly delegation, including the assembly chair Takashi Nakamoto, attended the symposium as well.
(Originally published on August 4, 2022)
NEW YORK- On August 2, the Hiroshima Prefectural government held a symposium to pursue measures to reduce reliance on nuclear deterrence, the doctrine that a nation uses its own or other nation’s nuclear forces for maintaining security, at UN headquarters in New York where the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference is underway. While Russia has repeatedly given threats of nuclear weapons use after its invasion of Ukraine, Hiroshima prefectural governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said, “We have to stop the dangerous situation in which the nuclear deterrence theory thrives.”
Facilitated by Nobumasa Akiyama, professor at Hitotsubashi University who specializes in nuclear disarmament and arms control, four experts from western and Asian nations served as panelists for the symposium. Tytti Erasto, a senior researcher at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) stressed that nuclear deterrence involved risk that could lead to a nuclear war. Ms. Erasto argued that each nation should seek a “minimization of deterrence,” which means to reduce its degree of reliance on nuclear deterrence to as close to zero as is possible.
One expert pointed out that each nation’s psychological motive or political strategy in seeking to have more advantages over other nations is also operating in the background when it comes to the deepened reliance on nuclear deterrence. After the symposium, Mr. Yuzaki said, “Because we have challenges, we want to gather wisdom from many people so we can put them into concrete actions to overcome those challenges.”
The symposium was organized by the prefecture and the Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), consisting of organizations in public and private sectors, such as the prefectural government. Two youth ambassadors of HOPe attended the symposium, too. One of the ambassadors, Manami Yamazaki, 17, a third-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima Senior High School living in Higashihiroshima, said, “I was inspired very much because I was able to listen to opinions from people in different nations about nuclear deterrence. I am going to pass down my great-grandmother’s experience of the atomic bombing as the fourth-generation A-bomb survivor.” Seven members of the prefectural assembly delegation, including the assembly chair Takashi Nakamoto, attended the symposium as well.
(Originally published on August 4, 2022)
