Message from Ambassador

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the cornerstone of the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, will hold its Review Conference in New York this year, following the one in 2022. The resolution on the elimination of nuclear weapons, which Japan annually submits to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, will also undergo significant revision this year. Amidst the continuing severe international security environment and the division in the international community over nuclear disarmament, we will continue to actively strive to further promote the international community's understanding of the realities and inhumanity of nuclear weapons use, as the only country to have ever suffered atomic bombings during war, and to pass this understanding on to future generations, thereby contributing to Japan's diplomacy aimed at achieving a “world without nuclear weapons”. Furthermore, to advance nuclear disarmament efforts, we will continue to call on the international community to implement concrete measures, such as the early commencement of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices(FMCT) and enhancing transparency in nuclear forces.
 
This year will be also an important year for the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and the working group to strengthen and enhance implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), with their respective outcomes expected. To ensure that Japan's position is fully reflected, we will continue to actively participate in the discussions. Japan will also actively contribute to the rule-making concerning the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and to conventional weapons treaties and frameworks, including the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), for which Japan served as President last year, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), for which a quinquennial Review Conference will be held in Lao PDR this September.