1. “Open Reconstruction” in the Aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake

2. The MDGs Follow-up Meeting

3. The 20th Japan-EU Summit

4. G8 Deauville Summit

5. 2011 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting

6. The Fourth Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting

7. The Third TICAD Ministerial Follow-Up Meeting

8. The Second Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

8. The Second Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

 Setting Out Concrete Proposals for the Reduction of Nuclear Risks

On April 30, ten non-nuclear-weapon states from diverse regions across the globe – Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates – held the 2nd Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Berlin, chaired by Foreign Minister of Germany Guido Westerwelle. From Japan, Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto attended the meeting.

Japan’s Proposal

At the meeting, Japan’s Foreign Minster Matsumoto started off his address by expressing his gratitude to all the participating countries for their offer of assistance to Japan in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. As for the nuclear accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, Foreign Minster Matsumoto explained that Japan is entering the phase that is aimed at settling the situation in a planned manner. He expressed Japan’s intention to thoroughly investigate the accident and share the knowledge and experience gained from it with the international community with maximum transparency. Foreign Minster Matsumoto then welcomed the fact that the efforts by these ten countries are entering the phase of concrete action with the keyword “reducing nuclear risks.” Noting the importance of starting negotiations towards a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), ensuring transparency in nuclear disarmament, and striving for nuclear non-proliferation, Foreign Minister Matsumoto proposed that the foreign ministers of the ten countries gather their political will to take action based on concrete proposals.

Berlin Statement

Towards the end of the meeting, the participants referred to the importance of reducing nuclear risks, their determination to steadily implement the agreement of the NPT Review Conference 2010, and the necessity to strengthen nuclear security.  They unanimously adopted the Berlin Statement – the outcome document that contains concrete proposals that call for, among other goals, the immediate commencement of FMCT negotiations, early entry-into-force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the development of a standard form to be used by the nuclear-weapon States in reporting progress in nuclear disarmament (as well as greater transparency), and the universalization of the IAEA Additional Protocol.

Evaluation of the Meeting

This meeting, in which six of the ten member states were represented by foreign ministers themselves, successfully maintained the momentum of the NPT Review Conference 2010 and demonstrated to the international community, in the form of a joint statement, their strong political will to help accelerate progress in the implementation of the Action Plan agreed on in the 2010 conference. Among the noticeable outcomes of the meeting were in-depth discussions on such important issues as an FMCT, a standard reporting form on the progress of nuclear disarmament and the universalization of the IAEA Additional Protocol, as well as concrete proposals on other issues that would pave the way for future developments.

The participants agreed to hold the next meeting in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in September and to review progress in taking concrete actions.