14^th -25^th June 2004, New York

Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, please allow me to congratulate you, Ambassador Thalman, as you assume the chairmanship of this Open-ended Working Group, and to express my sincere appreciation to you and the elected bureau members for your efforts in organizing this meeting. It is my great pleasure to address this Working Group, established based on the UN Resolution Japan jointly submitted last year along with South Africa and Colombia, and I look forward to a lively exchange of views during the course of our negotiations.

This meeting of the OEWG focuses on what Japan considers to be an extremely pertinent aspect of the complex and multi-faceted problem of SALW: the issue of tracing. The aim of these negotiations, to create an effective international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit SALW, is, I believe, essential to tackle this question and to minimize the horrific casualties of illicit SALW, and Japan strongly encourages each State to make every effort to work towards this aim.

Mr. Chairman,

Allow me to touch briefly on the efforts of Japan in this area. Japan has long been interested in this problem and has made numerous efforts to deal with the proliferation of SALW in a proactive manner.

Japan chaired the Panel of Governmental Experts on small arms established in 1996, and served as vice-Chair to the UN Conference on SALW in 2001. Japan also chaired the UN First Biennial Meeting of States last year. In the meantime, Japan organized several seminars and conferences on SALW, not only in Tokyo, but also in other parts of the world. Japan will organize in August a seminar on SALW in Fiji with co-sponsorship of the UN Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Asia-Pacific and Australia. In the field of tracing, Japan was a member of the Group of Governmental Experts on tracing, and made a substantial contribution to the ensuing report, which covers all aspects of tracing issues and constitutes an important basis for our negotiations. I would like to congratulate Ambassador Sood, Chairman of the GEE and all other members of the group for their tireless devotion to the matter.

In 1967, Japan established the three-tiered principle of prohibiting the export of weapons to a) communist countries; b) countries to which arms exports are prohibited by the UN Security Council Resolution; and c) countries engaged in, and/or likely to be engaged in, an international conflict. The scope of this principle, otherwise known as the “Three Principles on Arms Exports,” was extended in 1976 to encompass all countries, hence from this time, arms exports to the areas not included in the Principles, as a rule, have also been prohibited. Therefore, Japan has no munitions industry which presupposes arms exports to foreign countries. Consequently, Japan has never been, and will never be, a supplier of SALW.

Mr. Chairman,

Japan intends to make its utmost effort, including through its contribution to this OEWG, to work towards a solution to the problem of SALW. In the three subsequent negotiations, we hope that rich discussions will take place, addressing factors such as the nature of measures that need to be taken, steps needed to enforce such measures, and their necessity from the perspective of efficiency, effectiveness and financial viability, leading to a tangible agreement on the issue of tracing.

I would now like to briefly comment on Japan’s position on each of the points outlined in the Chairperson’s non-paper in relation to the subject of tracing. I will touch upon these issues in more detail, as appropriate, in each designated session of the meeting.

We consider that an Instrument of a legally binding nature has its merits, however taking into account that there exists divergence of views on the nature of the instrument, we consider that it might be more appropriate and realistic to pursue a political document. I hope that Wednesday afternoon we can have further discussion to elaborate on this question.

The definition given in the report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms could be used as a basis, with particular consideration given to SALW outside of the UN Firearms Protocol.

Scope

Paragraph 36-38 of the report of the GGE stipulates what constitute illicit SALW. Japan believes this should form the basis for determining the scope of the Instrument.

Marking methods should not be limited to engraving, but should also include other means such as stamping and casting. Not only marking during the process of production, but also marking at the time of import is preferable.

Japan considers it of utmost importance to maintain accurate, comprehensive and identifiable records concerning all SALW under the jurisdiction of each country. The duration of storage for these records should be no less than ten years, as set forth in the UN Firearms Protocol.

International cooperation in this area would be critically important so as to make effective the efforts of each country. With regard to information exchange, however, I would like to underline that security considerations should be taken into account, i.e. reasonable principles on information exchange should be established, taking into consideration limitations for reasons of security. Caution should also be exercised so that information exchange time limits do not cause an excessive administrative burden to States.

Mr. Chairman,

In conclusion, the illicit proliferation of SALW and its victims is a global problem, and cannot be addressed without a strong commitment to multilateralism. The issue of SALW is closely linked to security, and its complex and multifaceted nature renders it difficult to combat. As Chair of the UN First Biennial Meeting, Japan sincerely hopes that all States, including affected countries, continue to take joint ownership of this process which contributes to the successful result of the UN First Biennial Meeting.

In the lead up to next year’s Second UN Biennial Meeting of States, and the 2006 UN Review Conference on SALW, Japan is sincerely committed to taking every possible measure to tackle the problem of SALW. I am convinced that this series of negotiations will constitute a major step towards resolving the problem of the excessive and destabilizing accumulation and transfer of SALW.

Thank you.