Statement by Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi on the Adoption as a U.N. Security Council Resolution of a Joint Proposal by Japan, Sweden and Other Countries against Nuclear Testing by India and Pakistan

June 7, 1998

1. Japan welcomes the U.N. resolution unanimously adopted after 12:45 on June 6 New York time (Japan time: after 01:45 on June 7) concerning the recent nuclear testing conducted by India and Pakistan: the resolution as, among others, to maintain and consolidate the international regime on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as to cope with the threat against the preservation of peace and security of South Asia and other regions.
   
   
2. Under the recognition that the Security Council, as the organ which bears primary responsibility for keeping international peace and security, should urgently react to the crisis brought about by the series of recent nuclear tests, Japan, together with Sweden, Costa Rica and Slovenia, proposed the resolution. It is gratifying that this effort has borne fruit.
   
   
3. Japan intends to continue its efforts, through various international fora and by other means, to play a more positive role in contributing to the maintenance of regional and world peace and security, with a view to upholding the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and to enhancing international efforts for realistic and steady nuclear disarmament.