Madame President,

I would like to take this opportunity to state that today is the 64^th anniversary of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. In Japan, this day, together with the 9^th of August for Nagasaki, is a day to remember the tragedies so that we can renew our determination to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons through our current and future endeavors.

It seems that we have now entered into a very important period for our efforts in promoting international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. This year, there have been quite a few strong and encouraging political statements, initiatives and cooperative moves in the area. Among many others, for instance, Japan and Australia organized the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, which is expected to produce an action-oriented report after its final session in Hiroshima this October. Following the productive Third PrepCom in May, the international community has started to work together in order to make the NPT Review Conference next May an unqualified success.

Turning to the CD, after the decade long stagnation, we have finally adopted a programme of work and are about to embark on negotiations and discussions on the important issues of the Conference agenda. Japan strongly hopes that the Conference on Disarmament will promptly commence substantive work that will lead to concrete results in the near future. My delegation stands ready to cooperate to its utmost with the President and other delegations to bring about a new era of productivity in the CD.

Thank you very much.