Statement by H.E. Mari Amano

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Japan

to the Conference on Disarmament

Geneva, 26 June 2012

Mr. President,

I would like to express my congratulations to you, Ambassador Simon-Michel, on your assumption to the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. I assure you of my delegation’s utmost support and cooperation as you guide the thematic debates.

Mr. President,

I listened with great interest to my colleague’s interventions at the first session on an FMCT, while presenting my own country’s position on this issue. Today I would like to elaborate Japan’s thoughts on two major points that seemed to generate divergent views among the members.

The first point is the relationship between an FMCT and a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC). During the last session, an argument was put forward that we should rather start negotiations on a NWC, since an FMCT would be part of that convention. Also, in another intervention it was suggested that certain linkages between an FMCT and a NWC might be explored. As my delegation has previously stated, Japan is willing to participate, with a longer perspective, in discussions on how a multilateral nuclear disarmament framework or a NWC should look like in the final phase of our efforts to totally eliminate nuclear weapons. But in light of the current international circumstances, the negotiation of a NWC is neither realistic nor feasible. Rather, what is necessary to achieving a world without nuclear weapons is the steady accumulation of practical and effective measures. To realize this, we believe the next step after the CTBT is to immediately start negotiating an FMCT, which is the most mature issue for negotiations. Japan believes that this approach is supported by the vast majority of member states in this chamber. As such, we regard proposals such as linking an FMCT to a NWC or negotiating an FMCT as part of a NWC as not necessarily helpful to our discussions here.

　　

The second point that I would like to highlight is the treatment of stocks. As we detailed in our last statement, Japan recognizes that an FMCT should at least prohibit ①the transfer of stocks for nuclear weapons to a third country, ②the diversion to nuclear-weapon purposes of stocks for conventional military use, and ③the “reversion” back to nuclear-weapon purposes of stocks declared as excess. 　And we intend to pursue these ideas in the FMCT negotiations once they begin. Nevertheless, since we are still awaiting the commencement of those negotiations at the present juncture, what is important above all is to get them started straight away. In this connection, we consider that reopening the Shannon Mandate as a precondition for commencement of the negotiations is not productive. We should rather start negotiations now based on that mandate as it stands.

Thank you.