(95.08.31)黒河内大使ＣＤ（一般）

　 At the outset, I should like to congratulate you most warmly on your assumption of the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament at this critical period. I wish you every success in discharging your important tasks to guide the work of this Conference with a view to resolving all pending issues of the Conference. I pledge the fullest cooperation of my delegation to your endeavour.

　 I should also like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to your predecessor, Ambassador Yumjav of Mongolia for his untiring efforts with which he conducted our work during this month.

　 At the plenary meeting at the end of the second session of the CD, I emphasized the importance of accelerating the pace of the CTBT negotiations during the third session of the CD. I am pleased to note at this stage of the session that encouraging progress has been made in this regard. I particularly appreciate the political will that some states have shown on critical elements of the treaty, as well as the cooperative spirit of the negotiators and experts which has helped to facilitate progress in many areas of IMS architecture and to streamline the rolling text.

　 Today I would like to offer my views as to how our work might be further advanced, particularly by achieving a convergence of views on three specific issues and forging a commitment to a single, common goal. Let me state at the outset that it is of crucial importance to further progress in our negotiations that each state shows the utmost flexibility and clearly commits itself to achieving a convergence of opinions before the first session of the CD in 1996. For this purpose inter-sessional periods should be utilized to the maximum extent possible.

　 The first point on which a convergence of views must be reached and which is the most central issue of the negotiations, is, needless to say, the scope of the treaty. I am pleased to reiterate Japan's appreciation for the recent announcements made by France and the United States in this regard. I also welcome the statement made at this conference by Mr. Roland Smith of the United Kingdom on 17 August, which reaffirmed U.K.'s support for the ban on all nuclear explosions. Japan strongly hopes that all nuclear weapon states will agree unequivocally to a true zero yield threshold as soon as possible.

　 Japan has repeatedly stated its position that a CTBT should prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, and thus supports Working Paper 222 proposed by Australia. I would like to call upon all negotiating states to support the Australian text.

　 As for peaceful nuclear explosions (PNE), the rationale repeatedly cited is not persuasive because the practicality of its application for peaceful purposes is doubtful and we see no need for such technology. It would be very dangerous to allow such a wide loophole under a CTBT. Japan, therefore, appeals to all states participating in the negotiation to agree at the earliest date possible that the concept of PNE does not have a basis for justification under a CTBT.

　 The second issue I wish to emphasize concerns verification. Thanks to the contributions of experts and negotiators, significant progress has been made at this session on the IMS architecture. I highly appreciate that an agreement has been made on the number and location of primary stations in a seismic network and believe that a general consensus is emerging on other issues in IMS technologies. I strongly hope that further progress will be made on IMS architecture at the meeting of experts. It is important that the experts and negotiators continue their work and make further progress in this field during the coming autumn, and I am confident that every participating state shares this view.

　 As for On-Site-Inspections, I would hope that a basic agreement will emerge soon on such matters as the basis for OSI requests, on an access regime, and on the relation between consultation and clarification and the OSI process. As regards phasing, we find merits in a two-phase approach as a means to ensure a timely implementation of OSI which will facilitate the detection of such time-critical phenomena as the presence of noble gases, and aftershocks.

　 While a consultation and clarification process is important for its own sake as well as in keeping unnecessary inspections to a minimum, I do not share the view expressed by some delegations that a request for consultation and clarification should be prerequisite to an OSI. Moreover, I do not subscribe to the view that the basis for an OSI request should be limited only to data and information detected by the IMS, since the coverage of the IMS network cannot be 100 percent comprehensive.

　 The third issue on which efforts should be made to reach agreement is the question of the seat of a CTBT Organization and the Organization's relations with the IAEA.

　 At the plenary during the second session, I indicated that Japan is favorably considering Vienna as the seat for a CTBT Organization. It does so in the interest of ensuring that it remains a small, efficient, and highly cost-effective organization and is able to fully utilize the expertise of the IAEA. The Government of Austria's offer to host a CTBT Organization is thus, in our view, most welcome. I hope that the exchange of views with Austria will further progress.

　 It is also encouraging that efforts are under way to study the functions of the IAEA to examine a possible relationship with a CTBT Organization. Although I recognize that the specific outlines of the relations between a CTBT Organization and other international organizations are yet to be determined, I hope that efforts in this regard will be accelerated so that we can have a concrete basis for a discussion of the matter in the very near future. I cannot but think that convergence of views on the issue of the seat of a CTBT Organization, with basic understanding on its appropriate relationship with other organizations, will be an important step to show that the negotiations are in progress.

　 As stipulated in the Principles and Objectives decided at the NPT Review and Extension Conference, the international community has committed itself to completing the CTBT negotiations no later than 1996. But Japan and a number of other countries are advocating that the negotiations should be completed as early as possible in 1996, and not simply by the end of that year. The endorsement of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by the General Assembly in the fall of 1996 would be a worthy accomplishment for the United Nations, which will have just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and embarked upon its next half-century of activities.

　 Permit me to take this opportunity to urge all participating states to make every effort to realize the goal of signing a CTBT by the fall of 1996 at the very latest. This means that it will be necessary to have a clean text available during the second session of the CD in 1996. Considering that an appropriate amount of time must be allowed for technical and procedural arrangements, it is important that we reach an agreement on the substance of the treaty by the beginning of the first session of the CD in 1996. I sincerely hope that all states will summon the political will to conclude the negotiations within this timeframe.

　 I should now like to explain briefly Japan's activities which have direct relevance to the CTBT, especially the IMS. Utilizing its financial resources and the experience it has gained in seismology, Japan has been engaged in the education and training in this field of experts from other countries. It is gratifying to note that experts who have participated in these training programs have gone on to become members of and active participants in the GSE.

　 Once a CTBT enters into force, it will be essential to improve global monitoring technology based on seismology. Japan is planning in this fiscal year to launch a new program in an effort to enhance the capability of other countries to detect nuclear tests. Under this program, five trainees from various countries will be invited to participate each year ; applications are now being accepted for the first group.

　 With regard to funding for the IMS, Japan joins those delegations which have expressed their basic support for the new position outlined by the United States. Japan is of the view that each state should assume its share of the responsibility in a new international regime and is ready to bear its proper share according to an appropriate international scale.

　 First, with regard to the Cut-Off Treaty negotiations, I believe it is important to select a chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee and begin negotiations during this session and continue them in 1996. It is my hope that this question can be resolved as soon as possible under your presidency.

　 The second issue concerns CD expansion. I share the concern with my colleagues regarding this issue, and it is our hope that the president will do his utmost to guide us to reach an appropriate solution. I would like to assure you of our readiness to cooperate fully with you in this endeavour.