(98.08.27)林大使ＣＤ議題１ＡＨＣｽﾃｰﾄﾒﾝﾄ

　 Please allow me to express my warmest congratulations to you on your assumption of the chair of the Ad-hoc Committee, established under Agenda Item I, on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. It is well known that the mandate of this Ad-hoc Committee on a FMCT was brought about by the tireless efforts of your predecessor, Ambassador Shannon. It is not a coincidence that a representative of the Canadian Government played a central role in laying the foundation for the negotiations and another Canadian Representative has now been entrusted with the task of chairing the negotiations. It is certainly a reflection of the CD's wide recognition of the Canadian Government's long-standing policy and continuous efforts regarding nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

　 In addition to the significant role of your government in this area, your guidance, combined with your long diplomatic experience and dedication will make possible the smooth advancement of negotiations and the early conclusion of a fissile material production ban treaty. I also would like to take this opportunity to assure you the fullest cooperation of my delegation.

　 As this is the first meeting of this Ad-hoc Committee, I would like to reiterate that the Japanese government has consistently attached great importance to a treaty banning the production of fissile material because we believe it is a significant step in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Therefore, the Japanese Government welcomes the establishment of this Ad-hoc Committee and regards it as meaningful progress at this stage. Although Japan, as a non-nuclear weapon State Party to the NPT, has no knowledge or expertise in the field of military use of nuclear energy, we have, on the other hand, long and significant experience in its use for peaceful purposes. The Japanese Government, therefore, would like to make the greatest contribution possible to the negotiations in the Committee and is prepared to actively participate in them.

　 Since only a short period of time remains this year, I believe we should try to be as efficient as possible. With this in mind, allow me to briefly describe what my delegation believes how the negotiations be conducted in the Committee.

　 The fissile material production ban treaty negotiations upon which we have just embarked are bound to be a challenging task due to the complexities that arise from combined technical, legal and political aspects. In the course of negotiations, we should tackle difficult questions such as which categories of fissile materials the treaty should cover and the various problems related to verification, such as which kind of facilities should be subjected to it, what types of verification should be established, how can the expertise and resources of the IAEA be best utilized and what will be the financial implications of establishing and maintaining each type of verification mechanism?

　 These are just a few examples among many, but apart from these questions there remains the problem of stocks to which a number of delegations referred at the time this Committee was established. How to deal with the question of stocks, taking into consideration the various categories of them will be another significant task in the Committee when we start the negotiations.

　 In order to start and proceed smoothly with such complex negotiations, I believe some preparatory work involving careful, advance consideration on how the negotiations can best be organized is important. In this light, it will be extremely valuable for CD members to exchange their views on these matters at today's meeting and at the following one. One of the reasons why my delegation attaches importance to careful preparations, especially for the organization of the negotiations, is because we would not like to see the negotiations stalled at an early stage.

　 In an effort to conduct negotiations effectively and constructively, my delegation considers it essential that the CD members first try to achieve, as much as possible, a common understanding on the technical aspects of the matters which will be negotiated. We could make use of the period before the 1999 session of the CD as well as the early part of the 1999 session for this purpose. Another suggestion will be to establish a Technical Experts Group as a subsidiary body to this Ad-hoc Committee and to start the work of some of the important technical issues involved under that Group immediately next year. Such work should be conducted not as an academic exchange but with a clear mind set for negotiations.

　 Regarding the organization of negotiations in the CD, I understand that the practice is to conduct them under one or more subsidiary bodies which have been established specifically for each of the major issues. If this mechanism applies for these negotiations, I would like to know when other CD members believe we should or could commence negotiations through subsidiary bodies. My delegation is ready to demonstrate flexibility on this issue; however, I would like to point out that the governmental authorities concerned in Tokyo may require some time to elaborate Japan's position for the negotiations. Lastly, my delegation supports the re-establishment of this Ad-hoc Committee at the earliest possible time in the next session.