Chugoku Shimbun interviews Prime Minister Ishiba, “Role of A-bombed nation is to find common ground within NPT”
May 3, 2025
by Masaharu Nakagawa, Staff Writer
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gave an interview to the Chugoku Shimbun at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on May 2. Regarding the third Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) being held in New York, he stated, “The role of the A-bombed nation is to find common ground within the NPT, which includes both nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states.”
The national government has sent its foreign minister to the preparatory committee for the first time in seven years. The prime minister said, “The participation of nuclear weapon states is of great significance. Japan has an important role to play.” He added that it was “difficult to comment at the moment” on how to measure the results of the preparatory committee for the 2026 conference.
He also spoke about the automobile industry, which is affected by the tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Ishiba explained that consultation service is provided at 1,000 places nationwide and that cabinet members are visiting different areas to listen to requests and respond to them quickly. He emphasized Japan would adhere to the policy of not acceding to the tariffs in negotiations with the U.S. and that he would assert “A decline in exports from Japan will never serve the national interest of the U.S.”
He adopted a negative stance on disclosing the use of the so-called secret funds that the Cabinet Secretariat can expend at its own discretion, saying,“Disclosing the recipients and the use of the funds would make it difficult to gather information.” On the other hand, he stated that the funds would be used properly.
As he saw his sixth month in office in April, Prime Minister Ishiba also expressed his intention to seek policy agreements with the opposition parties. He said, “Considering that ours is a minority administration, it is more important to humbly listen to the proposals of other parties if they benefit national interests.”
(Originally published on May 3, 2025)
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gave an interview to the Chugoku Shimbun at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on May 2. Regarding the third Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) being held in New York, he stated, “The role of the A-bombed nation is to find common ground within the NPT, which includes both nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states.”
The national government has sent its foreign minister to the preparatory committee for the first time in seven years. The prime minister said, “The participation of nuclear weapon states is of great significance. Japan has an important role to play.” He added that it was “difficult to comment at the moment” on how to measure the results of the preparatory committee for the 2026 conference.
He also spoke about the automobile industry, which is affected by the tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Ishiba explained that consultation service is provided at 1,000 places nationwide and that cabinet members are visiting different areas to listen to requests and respond to them quickly. He emphasized Japan would adhere to the policy of not acceding to the tariffs in negotiations with the U.S. and that he would assert “A decline in exports from Japan will never serve the national interest of the U.S.”
He adopted a negative stance on disclosing the use of the so-called secret funds that the Cabinet Secretariat can expend at its own discretion, saying,“Disclosing the recipients and the use of the funds would make it difficult to gather information.” On the other hand, he stated that the funds would be used properly.
As he saw his sixth month in office in April, Prime Minister Ishiba also expressed his intention to seek policy agreements with the opposition parties. He said, “Considering that ours is a minority administration, it is more important to humbly listen to the proposals of other parties if they benefit national interests.”
(Originally published on May 3, 2025)
