May 28, 2019

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on May 27 criticized the Japanese government for its "no problem" attitude regarding a subcritical nuclear test carried out by the U.S. Trump administration in February.

Earlier that day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide at a routine press conference indicated that the Abe government does not acknowledge subcritical experiments as a problem because "they do not involve actual detonations which the CTBT prohibits".

Koike, in reaction to this, said, "The Prime Minister of the only atomic-bombed country in the world should protest against the U.S. subcritical nuclear test."

He said, "The nuclear test goes against the obligation of nuclear disarmament under the NPT Article 6," as JCP Chair Shii pointed out on the previous day. Koike added, "It is a blatant challenge to the growing international call for the early entry into force of the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons."