Statement by H.E. Mr. Mari Amano

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament

At the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee

for the 2015 Review Conference of NPT

- Cluster II: Specific Issues -

- Middle East -

Geneva, 29 April 2013

Mr. Chairman,

First of all, I would like to thank the Undersecretary Jaakko Laajava of Finland for reporting to this committee. Japan fully supports his tireless efforts as the facilitator for convening a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.

Japan considers that the implementation of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East is indeed one of the matters of great importance in the framework of the NPT. We expect the conference will be held soon as a result of the cooperation between the facilitator and stakeholders, including the conveners and all the States in the region. At the same time, we would like to stress that it is in the best interest of all State Parties to seek a balanced progress in each of the three pillars of the NPT through the steady implementation of the 2010 Action Plan.

Furthermore, serious discussions have been taking place within the NPDI, which Japan is a member, on this issue because its importance and impact are not solely confined to the region. The NPDI will spare no effort for the early convening of the conference and the same determination will apply to Japan in its national capacity.

Mr. Chairman,

While we recognize that the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East is of high priority, this issue does not have to prevent other practical steps from taking place that could generate a positive atmosphere to achieve this long-term goal. We, therefore, call upon all States in the region to accede to respective WMD related instruments, such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Additional Protocol of the IAEA Safeguards. In parallel, we consider the universalization of the NPT in the region to be a matter of urgency. Japan has been and will continue to call upon Israel to join the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state and to take part in other disarmament and non-proliferation regimes.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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