November 19, 2024
The Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition on November 18 met with Harold Agyeman, chairman of the 3rd Preparatory Committee for the NPT Review Conference (and permanent representative of Ghana to the UN), at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Eight NGO representatives, including Wada Masako of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), Tsuchida Yayoi of the Japan Council against A- and H-Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo), and Kawasaki Akira of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), took part in the meeting.
Ambassador Agyeman expressed his appreciation for the tremendous work that Japanese civil society has been making to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. He said, “Unfortunately, the last two NPT Review Conferences failed to agree on and adopt a final outcome document. So, expectations for an agreement on a final outcome document this time around have been raised.” Noting that the risk of the use of nuclear weapons is increasing in the face of the recent rise in geopolitical tensions and the modernization of nuclear weapons by nuclear-weapons states, he expressed his commitment to working to reach a final agreement at the 2026 NPT Review Conference.
Wada, secretary general of the Nihon Hidankyo and a Nagasaki A-bomb survivor, pointed out that the NPT, since it entered into force in 1970, has shown little progress or achievements of note. She said, “Looking at the ongoing world situation concerning nuclear weapons, the world is facing the threat of a nuclear war. We should now imagine a catastrophe with devastating humanitarian consequences if nuclear weapons are used. However, the nuclear powers and their allies continue to refuse to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” She criticized these countries for neglecting to implement the NPT despite being NPT signatories. She also criticized them for continuing to possess nuclear weapons as their security guarantee by naming it “nuclear deterrence”. Wada said that Hibakusha have testified about the inhumane consequences of the atomic bombings experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that their testimonies were recognized as having played a major role in establishing the “nuclear taboo”, adding that this led to the Nobel Peace Prize for Nihon Hidankyo. She expressed her hope that discussions will proceed in the NPT Preparatory Committee.
Eight NGO representatives, including Wada Masako of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), Tsuchida Yayoi of the Japan Council against A- and H-Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo), and Kawasaki Akira of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), took part in the meeting.
Ambassador Agyeman expressed his appreciation for the tremendous work that Japanese civil society has been making to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. He said, “Unfortunately, the last two NPT Review Conferences failed to agree on and adopt a final outcome document. So, expectations for an agreement on a final outcome document this time around have been raised.” Noting that the risk of the use of nuclear weapons is increasing in the face of the recent rise in geopolitical tensions and the modernization of nuclear weapons by nuclear-weapons states, he expressed his commitment to working to reach a final agreement at the 2026 NPT Review Conference.
Wada, secretary general of the Nihon Hidankyo and a Nagasaki A-bomb survivor, pointed out that the NPT, since it entered into force in 1970, has shown little progress or achievements of note. She said, “Looking at the ongoing world situation concerning nuclear weapons, the world is facing the threat of a nuclear war. We should now imagine a catastrophe with devastating humanitarian consequences if nuclear weapons are used. However, the nuclear powers and their allies continue to refuse to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” She criticized these countries for neglecting to implement the NPT despite being NPT signatories. She also criticized them for continuing to possess nuclear weapons as their security guarantee by naming it “nuclear deterrence”. Wada said that Hibakusha have testified about the inhumane consequences of the atomic bombings experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that their testimonies were recognized as having played a major role in establishing the “nuclear taboo”, adding that this led to the Nobel Peace Prize for Nihon Hidankyo. She expressed her hope that discussions will proceed in the NPT Preparatory Committee.
