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Address to Atlanta Consultation III
Atlanta, January 20, 2010
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I am honored to be here and I would like to thank MPI and Carter Center for organizing this important meeting. Seniority counts very much in Japan and you might wonder what a young man from Japan is doing here. The only reason why I am standing here in front of you is to show and remind you that the work of the International Commission on Non-proliferation and Disarmament is a joint initiative between Australia and Japan so I would like to take this opportunity to make a few remarks about the significant work done by ICNND. The commission, as you know, is a second track initiative and the report of the commission does not necessarily reflect the views of the two governments and it goes two or three steps further than the provisions of Japan. However, far from being idealistic, the report of the commission contains realistic, action-oriented recommendations as a practical guide for global policy makers especially during the run up to the May NPT Review conference.
That is why the Japanese government together with the Australian government is strongly supporting the outreach activities of the commission after the launch of the reports in December last year in Tokyo. On behalf of the government of Japan we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Professor Evans for his energetic contribution and participation in various outreach activities, presenting his reports and making representations to key countries and global institutions and getting involved in important multilateral forums like this one. Unfortunately the Japanese co-chair of the commission, Ms. Kawaguchi, the former Foreign Minister of Japan is not here today due to her obligations to the national Diet. I would like to send to all of you her best regards.
We firmly believe that the report contributes to international efforts for the success of the Review Conference and to achieving a world without nuclear weapons and under instructions from the Japanese current foreign minister, Mr. Okada, Japan and our Australian colleges are two countries which are important US allies, have already started discussions at the governmental level on how we can contribute to achieving consensus that will preserve and enhance the NPT regime by making use of this significant report prepared by a very representative and influential group of officials, and we sincerely hope that this report serves as a useful reference for the efforts of all of you present here today.
Last year we saw a rise in momentum for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. President Obama in his Prague speech stated his commitment to seeking the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons and stated that as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon the United States has a moral responsibility to act. Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama, in his statement at the historic UN Security Summit, which adopted Resolution 1887, clearly stated that as the only country who has suffered from atomic bombings, Japan has chosen a non-nuclear path to prevent the vicious cycle of a nuclear arms race because it saw moral responsibility in doing so. And he also renewed Japan’s (commitment) to the three non-nuclear principals which are not possessing, not producing and not introducing into its territory nuclear weapons.
During last year's UN General Assembly, the United States, which had been opposed to the resolution during the eight years of the Bush administration, joined for the first time in cosponsoring with Japan’s resolution, namely, "Renewed determination towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons." The resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority, 171 in favor and cosponsoring nations amounted to 87. The highest number of votes for the Japanese resolution since 1994. During his first official visit to Japan in November of last year, President Obama and Prime Minister Hatoyama issued a Japan/US joint statement towards a world without nuclear weapons. In the statement the government of the United States will reduce the role of nuclear weapons and both governments urged other states with nuclear weapons to do the same.
This year we have an important challenge before us, to mobilize political will into concrete actions. And I am convinced that this conference which gathers leading figures on the issue of disarmament and non-proliferation from the middle powers and other nations as well as international organizations can provide important input into our endeavor. I look forward to taking part in discussions at this conference which I should qualify as a very timely initiative as we run up to the NPT Review Conference.
Thank you very much.
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