March 25, 2022

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on March 24 issued a statement titled, “The Japanese Communist Party protests against North Korea’s launch of new ballistic missile”. The full text of the statement is as follows:

North Korea on March 24 launched a ballistic missile which appears to be a new type with an intercontinental range that landed within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from conducting all activities related to ballistic missiles. The Japanese Communist Party denounces and protests against this act.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively in regard to its aggression against Ukraine, which has provoked a wave of strong protest around the world. The latest missile launch by North Korea–a unilateral violation of its international commitment to refrain from testing nuclear weapons and ICBM launches–is totally unacceptable as it poses a serious challenge to the global call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

North Korea should immediately suspend and abandon its nuclear development program and related activities. The international community needs to unite prior to the first conference of the parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to be held in June and make a strong push for global nuclear abolition.