Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 April 11 - 17 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Anti-nuke group urges gov’t to take initiative in NPT meeting

The Japan Association for a Non-nuclear Government on April 16 demanded that the Foreign Ministry play a leading role in the preparatory committee meeting for the 2015 NPT Review Conference in Vienna at the end of this month, as the government of the only A-bombed country with the war-renouncing Article 9 in its Constitution.

They urged, in the submitted petition, the government to call on deputations from around the world and the United Nations to start negotiations for a nuclear weapons ban treaty. They also requested that the government declare to the international community its intent to no longer support the nuclear deterrence policy under a supposed U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Hamada Kazuyuki in response showed some degree of understanding about the matter, but avoided giving any definite answer.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira accompanied the group handing over the petition.