Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2017 February 8 - 14 [POLITICS]

JCP Ohira criticizes Abe gov’t for opposing NWC

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Ohira Yoshimasa in a Diet committee meeting said that the Japanese government turned its back on the launch of negotiations for an international treaty banning nuclear weapons due to its subservience to U.S. interests.

In the House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on February 8, Ohira noted that in the UN General Assembly in December 2016, Japan voted against a resolution calling for the start of negotiations for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC). The resolution was approved with the support of 113 countries.

Ohira pointed out that prior to the UNGA vote, the U.S. administration sent its allied countries letters urging them to oppose the resolution. The JCP lawmaker asked Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio if the pressure from the U.S. was the reason for Japan’s “No” vote. Kishida gave an ambiguous response to Ohira’s question.

Ohira said that U.S. President Donald Trump has been advocating a nuclear weapons buildup since before taking office and recently signed an executive order to this effect. Ohira stressed that in the Japan-U.S. summit meeting, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo should take the side of Hibakusha calling for a nuclear free world and relay their sentiments to President Trump.

* * *

A group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates on February 5 released a statement calling on world leaders to work for an early conclusion of a NWC. This was announced at the 16th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates held in Bogota, Colombia.

The statement was issued by 16 individuals and five organizations. Former U.S. President Barack Obama, who was awarded the peace prize in 2009 for his speech in Prague ostensibly calling for a world free from nuclear weapons, did not join the group.

The statement welcomes the start of NWC talks in March. It expresses its full support for the goal of the negotiations and encourages all countries to take action to conclude a NWC by the end of 2017 and put it into force as early as possible.