Press Release

Japanese Vice-Minister addresses CD

l September 1994

　

　

　 Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hakuo Yanagisawa addressed the Conference on Disarmament on Thursday 1 September. In his speech, which was intended to give a political push to the negotiations in the CD, the Vice-Minister stressed Japan's firm commitment to the CTBT negotiations and other disarmament issues on the CD's agenda.

　

　 During his stay in Geneva from 31 August to 2 September, Mr. Yanagisawa will meet Mr. Sutherland, Director-General of GATT, Ms. Ogata, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Mr. Tarjanne, Secretary-General of ITU.

　

　 Mr. Yanagisawa, who had worked in the Finance Ministry for 18 years, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1980, served various offices in the House and the Liberal Democratic Party, and has been the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs since July 1994.

　

　 In his statement at the CD on Thursday, Vice-Minister Yanagisawa conveyed to the CD the best wishes from Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, both of whom, Yanagisawa said, had stressed the importance of stressing to the CD the disarmament policy of the Japanese government and the interest and desire of the Japanese people relating to disarmament issues. He said that Japan, after World War II, with profound and sincere regret for the past, had determined never again to make war, desiring to ensure that the tragedy of war should never happen again. He also stated that Japan, the only country to have been the victim of nuclear attack, had strictly adhered to its three non-nuclear principles of not possessing, not manufacturing, and not introducing into its territory nuclear weapons, and has sought to convince the international community of the need to promote disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, with the goal of the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons. The Vice-Minister, who said Japan would support indefinite extension of the NPT in the NPT Review and Extension Conference to be held next year, stated that "we should also in no way relax our efforts for nuclear disarmament". Welcoming the moratoria on nuclear testing observed by the United States, the Russian Federation, France and the United Kingdom, the Vice-Minister hoped that China would also join in the moratoria. Appreciating the progress made in the CD's Committee on a Nuclear Test Ban chaired by Ambassador Marin-Bosch of Mexico, he urged the Committee to achieve further and accelerated progress in the CTBT negotiations after the formal closure of the CD next Wednesday up to next year, during which the Committee had decided to continue work. Yanagisawa added that Japan was determined to continue to provide various kinds of technical and human resources contributions which were relevant to the implementation of a CTBT. He also addressed other issues on the CD's agenda, including fissile material Cut-Off and conventional weapons, especially the importance Japan attached to transparency measures. Yanagisawa said that Japan which hosted UN Disarmament Conferences in Kyoto, Hiroshima and Sendai, would host another UN meeting in Nagasaki in 1995.

　

　 Japanese Foreign Ministers Abe and Nakayama had addressed the CD in 1984 and 1991, respectively.