February 19, 2025
The government on February 18 decided not to participate as an observer in the Third Conference of State Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) slated for March in New York.
Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at a press conference denied the significance of the treaty itself by saying, “A treaty that comprehensively bans nuclear weapons is incompatible with nuclear deterrence.”
He added, “Conventional military forces alone cannot deter an adversary who threatens to use nuclear weapons. So, extended nuclear deterrence is essential,” reiterating Japan’s position of depending on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
In regard to the non-participation decision, Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo issued a statement under the name of Nihon Hidankyo Representative Director Tanaka Terumi, saying, “It is extremely disappointing to say the least.”
In the statement, Tanaka quoted a part of his lecture delivered at the award ceremony in Oslo last December, in which he said, “To achieve further universalization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the conclusion of an international convention which will abolish nuclear weapons, I urge everyone around the world to create opportunities in your own countries to listen to the testimonies of A-bomb survivors, and to feel, with deep sensitivity, the true inhumanity of nuclear weapons.”
The statement states that Hibakusha are calling on the Japanese government to sign and ratify the TPNW because nuclear weapons cannot coexist with humanity, hoping that Japan will “take the lead in global efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.”
Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at a press conference denied the significance of the treaty itself by saying, “A treaty that comprehensively bans nuclear weapons is incompatible with nuclear deterrence.”
He added, “Conventional military forces alone cannot deter an adversary who threatens to use nuclear weapons. So, extended nuclear deterrence is essential,” reiterating Japan’s position of depending on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
In regard to the non-participation decision, Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo issued a statement under the name of Nihon Hidankyo Representative Director Tanaka Terumi, saying, “It is extremely disappointing to say the least.”
In the statement, Tanaka quoted a part of his lecture delivered at the award ceremony in Oslo last December, in which he said, “To achieve further universalization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the conclusion of an international convention which will abolish nuclear weapons, I urge everyone around the world to create opportunities in your own countries to listen to the testimonies of A-bomb survivors, and to feel, with deep sensitivity, the true inhumanity of nuclear weapons.”
The statement states that Hibakusha are calling on the Japanese government to sign and ratify the TPNW because nuclear weapons cannot coexist with humanity, hoping that Japan will “take the lead in global efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.”
