Photo/Illutration Sueichi Kido, secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, is seen on a large screen as he speaks at the second meeting of state parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Nov. 27. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

With nuclear-armed nations involved in armed conflicts, there is an urgent need to take stronger actions and reinforce the norms for reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons, rather than relying on nuclear deterrence, to close the path leading to a nuclear catastrophe.

The second meeting of state parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York through Dec. 1.

Countries sharing a sense of urgency attended and adopted a political declaration pledging they “will not stand by as spectators to increasing nuclear risks and the dangerous perpetuation of nuclear deterrence.”

January will mark the third anniversary of the coming into force of the treaty, which prohibits all use and possession of nuclear weapons.

According to the United Nations, the number of countries and areas that have signed the treaty has reached 93, approaching half of the world. This apparently reflects the profound anxiety about the situation among many nations.

Russia, which continues its war of aggression while threatening the use of nuclear weapons, has also withdrawn its ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

In Asia, North Korea is pressing ahead with its programs to develop nuclear arms and missiles, while China continues an alarmingly opaque expansion of its nuclear arsenal.

A Cabinet minister of Israel, which is not among the signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has suggested the possibility of using nuclear weapons in its attacks on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

In a situation where military tensions are intensifying worldwide, it is only natural that the political declaration of the meeting expressed a strong sense of crisis, stating, “The continued existence of nuclear weapons and lack of meaningful progress on disarmament … heighten the risk of nuclear catastrophe and pose an existential threat to humanity as a whole.”

Furthermore, the declaration also said, “Far from preserving peace and security, nuclear weapons are used as instruments of policy, linked to coercion, intimidation and heightening of tensions.”

Countries dependent on the nuclear umbrella, security assurance provided by a nuclear-armed ally, including Japan, should sincerely heed the warning that nuclear deterrence undermines security and hinders nuclear disarmament.

As in the previous meeting, some allies of the United States such as Germany and Australia participated as observers. The stance of the Japanese government, which again chose not to be present at the meeting as an observer, is difficult to understand.

Japan cites the absence of nuclear-armed states as the reason for this decision and maintains a policy of focusing on the NPT.

Amid concerns that nuclear-armed states, including the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China, are not fulfilling their disarmament obligations under the NPT, it is noteworthy that some parties to the nuclear ban treaty have launched an initiative to rebuild the weakened NPT regime.

Ireland and Thailand have announced plans to act as “bridges” between the nuclear ban treaty and the NPT, seeking dialogue with leading nuclear powers.

Another key topic for discussions at this meeting was how to proceed with support for victims and environmental rehabilitation in various parts of the world affected by past nuclear testing.

This is an area where Japan can make unique and important contributions by capitalizing on the experiences and wisdom it has gained as the only country to ever suffer wartime nuclear attacks.

In the absence of the Japanese government, it was a little consolation to see many atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as experts and youths from Japan attending the meeting and expanding the circle of solidarity.

The nuclear ban treaty is not an “exit” as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly said, but the “entrance” to a world without nuclear weapons. It is up to Kishida to decide what kind of role Japan will play in contributing to the cause.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 3

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