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Speech by H.E. Mr. Fumio
Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, at the Opening Ceremony
of the “Hiroshima Round Table”
-Vision and Steps toward “A World without Nuclear Weapons”-
Governor Yuzaki,
Distinguished Guests,
I am honored to be
invited to the opening ceremony of the “Hiroshima Round Table” in my
hometown of Hiroshima. It is the perfect time to hold this round table
which focuses on nuclear disarmament and arms control in the East Asian
region, since the region is confronted with nuclear risks, including the
North Korean nuclear issue. The Government of Japan will closely
cooperate with “Hiroshima for Global Peace Plan” of Hiroshima
Prefecture, which we share an ambition for “a world without nuclear
weapons”.
As the first Foreign
Minister who is from Hiroshima, an atomic bombed city, I will
proactively work on nuclear disarmament. I have already pledged this
resolution in public during the press conference of my inauguration.
Last April, I
attended the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Proliferation
and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) in the Hague, the Netherlands.
Throughout the meeting, I had meaningful discussions with other Foreign
Ministers, including the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister. As we exchanged
our opinions, I strongly encouraged the group at the political level to
contribute towards a successful Second Session of the Preparatory
Committee for the 2015 NPT Review Conference. The NPDI has increasingly
gained momentum in the field of nuclear disarmament. During the Second
Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 NPT Review Conference,
we were able to have an in-depth discussion with the five nuclear-weapon
states, including the U.S. Our strengths are strong political support
and concrete, practical proposals from our group’s Foreign Ministers.
In order to realize
“a world without nuclear weapons,” it is important for all of us to
widely share this vision. For this purpose, it is essential to outline
realistic and concrete steps for cooperative action within the
international community, and to steadily implement them. These tasks are
precisely the objectives of the NPDI. The importance of concrete action
towards this achievement is stated in the report of the “International
Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND).”
The former Foreign Ministers Kawaguchi and Evans, who are attending this
ceremony today, took leadership in making this report.
Japan’s nuclear
disarmament resolutions to the UN General Assembly have played a
significant role in calling for united action to the international
community. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yohei
Kono, who is also here today, took initiative in submitting the
resolution when he was a Foreign Minister. Ever since 1994, Japan has
continuously submitted the resolution every year and it always adopted
with an overwhelming majority. We can proudly state that Japan’s nuclear
disarmament resolutions are a sound example of our country’s leadership
in the field of the arms control and disarmament.
In the beginning of
my speech, I expressed my commitment to tackling nuclear disarmament as
a Foreign Minister from the bombed city. The foundation for this nuclear
disarmament effort must be built upon two important notions. First, we
should have a clear understanding of humanitarian consequences caused by
the use of nuclear weapons. As the only country to have ever suffered
atomic bombings, it is our country’s mission to pass down the story of
the tremendous sufferings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki across borders and
generations. I would like to aim for establishing clear understanding of
the humanitarian consequences caused by the use of nuclear weapons as a
part of departure for international nuclear disarmament efforts.
Second, we should
recognize the reality of today’s international community that is facing
the increasingly diversifying nuclear risks, such as North Korea’s and
Iran’s nuclear issues and the threat of nuclear terrorism. In East Asia,
it has been observed that there is a continued lack of transparency in
the nuclear force build-up, and thus the environment surrounding our
country is filled with increasingly serious nuclear and security risks.
In this regard, it is our role as a responsible government to develop a
sufficiently practical strategy of nuclear disarmament to effectively
deal with the impending risk.
Based on this idea,
aiming for “a world without nuclear weapons,” I would like to tackle
nuclear disarmament by focusing on “three reduction” areas that serve as
a realistic and concrete approach towards “a world without nuclear
weapons.” That is, (1) reduction of the number of nuclear weapons, (2)
reduction of the role of nuclear weapons, and (3) reduction of the
incentive for development and possession of the nuclear weapons. In
order to reduce the number of nuclear weapons it is necessary to begin
with improving the transparency of the present state of nuclear strategy
and nuclear doctrine, and then to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in
national security policy. Moreover, due to the security risk in the
region and the incentives generated by the international community to
develop and possess nuclear weapons, we need to reduce the motivation to
develop and possess them through the improvement of the security
environment. Based upon practical proposals and efforts we have made
through NPDI, we will bolster our efforts in building up the blocks for
our common goal.
The upcoming 2014
Ministerial Meeting of NPDI is scheduled to be held here in Hiroshima on
April 12th. At the meeting, I would like each participating
foreign minister to see the reality of the nuclear bombing and to have a
dialogue with civil society. From this nuclear-bombed area I would like
to send a message that brings more and more countries to recognize the
inhumanity of nuclear weapons.
Non-proliferation
and disarmament education plays an important role in galvanizing
international public opinion in order to share our aim of “a world
without nuclear weapons.” As mentioned earlier, as “the only country to
have suffered atomic bombings during the war,” it is our mission to pass
down the tragedy of the use of nuclear weapons to the world and future
generations. Some of the atomic bomb survivors have been working hard as
“Communicators
for a World without Nuclear Weapons” throughout the world. In addition,
I have announced the establishment of “Youth Communicators for a World
without Nuclear Weapons” in the Hague, the Netherlands, in April. Today,
the first communicators have just been assigned to this title. Through
this undertaking, we hope that the younger generation will be able to
discover independently what they can do to create “a world without
nuclear weapons,” and that they deliver it to the world.
For
the purpose of achieving our goal it is essential that citizens consider
what steps can be taken from every possible aspect and how it can be
implemented. I sincerely hope this roundtable starting today will
provide such a precious opportunity.
Thank
you very much for your kind attention.
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