Statement by Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on the Result of the 2000 NPT Review Conference

May 21, 2000

The 2000 NPT (Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons) Review Conference ended on May 20 (New York time) by adopting the final document which includes nuclear disarmament steps for the future. It was the first Review Conference since the indefinite extension of the Treaty in 1995 and held at a time when the environment surrounding nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation was extremely severe since the late 1990s. The achievement of the Conference was produced by the strong will of all the participating countries to make the final agreement possible. The Government of Japan welcomes and appreciates the results as they are very significant for maintaining and strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime and for promoting nuclear disarmament in the future.
With the severe recognition that the failure of the Conference should not be allowed, Japan actively engaged in consultations with governments of the nuclear weapon states, Non-Alignment Movement states and others, as well as Ambassador Abudallah Baali, President of the Conference, from the early stage of the preparation period, stressing the necessity of the success of the Conference. Furthermore, Japan contributed to the success of the Conference by offering the basis for unanimous agreement with its 8-item proposal for future measures.
In order to bring about concrete progress in nuclear disarmament, Japan has tenaciously encouraged the nuclear weapon states to take nuclear disarmament measures based upon the relationship of mutual trust, rather than with a confrontational attitude. Japan deems that the effectiveness of its realistic approach was proved by the fact that the unanimous agreement was made on the forward-looking measures at the Conference. Based on this agreement, Japan will make further efforts to realize a world free of nuclear weapons at the earliest date possible.

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