MOFA begins preparations to hold foreign ministers’ conference on nuclear disarmament in September in U.S.
Jun. 28, 2010
by Kohei Okata and Noritaka Araki, Staff Writers
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) began preparations to hold a foreign ministers' conference on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in September at U.N. headquarters in New York in conjunction with the U.N. General Assembly. MOFA intends to give impetus to the implementation of the action plan included in the final document of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, held in May. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, at a regular news conference on June 25, revealed that the ministry was already discussing the issue with foreign ministers of various nations.
According to MOFA, about 10 to 20 nations that share a common view on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including Australia, which lent cooperation to Japan in jointly presenting proposals to the NPT Review Conference, among other occasions, will take part in the conference. The participating nations will discuss challenges that the international community should tackle in order to implement the action plan, including the start of negotiations for the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
On that day, Mr. Okada stated, "Continuous efforts in pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons are needed even after the NPT Review Conference. The nation of Japan would like to fully exercise leadership in this area."
Mr. Okada, at a news conference at the end of February, expressed his desire to hold a Japan-led international conference on nuclear disarmament later this year that would succeed the nuclear security summit in April and the NPT Review Conference in May.
(Originally published on June 26, 2010)
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) began preparations to hold a foreign ministers' conference on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in September at U.N. headquarters in New York in conjunction with the U.N. General Assembly. MOFA intends to give impetus to the implementation of the action plan included in the final document of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, held in May. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, at a regular news conference on June 25, revealed that the ministry was already discussing the issue with foreign ministers of various nations.
According to MOFA, about 10 to 20 nations that share a common view on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including Australia, which lent cooperation to Japan in jointly presenting proposals to the NPT Review Conference, among other occasions, will take part in the conference. The participating nations will discuss challenges that the international community should tackle in order to implement the action plan, including the start of negotiations for the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
On that day, Mr. Okada stated, "Continuous efforts in pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons are needed even after the NPT Review Conference. The nation of Japan would like to fully exercise leadership in this area."
Mr. Okada, at a news conference at the end of February, expressed his desire to hold a Japan-led international conference on nuclear disarmament later this year that would succeed the nuclear security summit in April and the NPT Review Conference in May.
(Originally published on June 26, 2010)
