First Session of the Preparatory Committee
for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
- Cluster I: Specific Issues -
Security Assurances
Vienna, 4 May 2012
Mr.
Chairman,
In this session, I would like
to focus my statement on security assurances.
Mr.
Chairman,
On signing the
NPT in 1970, Japan underscored in its official statement that, “the
nuclear-weapon states must not have recourse to use of nuclear weapons or
threaten to use such weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states.” That position remains unchanged,
and Japan lends its basic support to the concept of negative security
assurances (NSAs).
In order to be assured of
this, it is
fundamentally important
that all
states possessing nuclear weapons diminish the role of nuclear weapons in
their national security strategies, as indicated in Action 5 of the 2010 Final
Document. We should recognize, in this
connection, that negative security assurances can make a significant
contribution to reducing the role of nuclear weapons.
NSAs are in the
legitimate interests of non-nuclear-weapon states. Nuclear-weapon states
should
make their existing NSA pledges credible to the rest of the
world and
should provide
stronger assurances to non-nuclear-weapon states that comply with the NPT. In this regard, we commend the
Nuclear Posture Review of the United States and the Strategic Defense and
Security Review of the United Kingdom. They provide
strengthened assurances to non-nuclear-weapon states that are party to the NPT
and in compliance with their nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Mr.
Chairman,
Japan also
believes that the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, where
appropriate, is a
practical step to promoting and realizing legally binding
security
assurances.
As noted in Action 9 of the 2010 Final
Document, all concerned states, which encompass both nuclear-weapon and
non-nuclear-weapon states, are encouraged to constructively consult and
cooperate to bring about the entry into force of the relevant legally binding
protocols of all nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties.
Taking this into
account, Japan is pleased with the successful conclusion of negotiations last
November between the ASEAN countries and the nuclear-weapon states on the Protocol
of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty. Japan strongly hopes the five nuclear-weapon states
sign and ratify the Protocol by an early date. Nuclear-weapon-free
zones have also been established in the South
Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia, and Japan appeals to all the parties
concerned to work together constructively in order to bring about the expeditious
entry into force of the respective protocols of each zone.