Japan Press Weekly

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2021 January 20 - 26 [POLITICS]

US conducted subcritical nuclear test prior to enforcement of UN N-ban treaty

The U.S. Trump administration in November of 2020 conducted a subcritical nuclear test named "Nightshade A" at the U1a facility at the Nevada nuclear test site, Akahata learned on January 19.

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) published a protest statement on January 20 and sent it to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. The written protest says, "Article 1 of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which comes into force on January 22 also has a ban on nuclear weapons experiments. Irrespective of whether being a signatory to the treaty or not, all nuclear tests are technically illegal." Nihon Hidankyo demands that the U.S. administration respond to the global call for a total ban on and the elimination of nuclear weapons without delay by taking the inauguration of the new president as an opportunity to take the lead in nuclear disarmament.

The Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) also sent the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo a written protest, stating, "Your act runs counter to the world trend calling for a nuclear-weapons free world and is an affront to the global public call." The protest statement demands that the U.S. administration no longer carry out nuclear tests. It also demands withdrawal of U.S. projects under the "Nuclear Posture Review" (NPR) to modernize and develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. In order to establish a "world without nuclear weapons" to which the U.S. itself commits, the United States should sincerely abide by Article 6 of the NPT along with the agreement reached at the NPT Review Conference and should join the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons.

The Hiroshima Gensuikyo on January 17 sent a similar statement addressed to the U.S. president through the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, demanding that the United States take seriously international opinion and the Hiroshima/Nagasaki A-bomb survivors' appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The Gensuikyo local also demands the U.S. participation in the N-ban treaty and a U.S. commitment to working to eliminate all nuclear weapons.