G7
G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano
(Overview of the “Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” Session)
April 18, 2023
On April 18, commencing at 10:50 a.m., Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, hosted the “Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” session, for approximately 30 minutes. The overview of the session is as follows. (Attended by the G7 Foreign Ministers and the Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs, European External Action Service (EEAS) (Attending on behalf of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy).)
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi set forth his views on the extremely severe situation surrounding nuclear weapons in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He expressed concern over such developments as Russia’s decision to suspend the new START treaty, North Korea’s continued provocative actions including its nuclear and missile developments and ICBM launches, and the expansion of Iran’s nuclear development activities.
- Minister Hayashi also explained the “Hiroshima Action Plan” proposed by Prime Minister Kishida and stated that it was essential to maintain and strengthen the NPT regime which enjoys the participation of both nuclear-weapon state and non-nuclear-weapon states and further to promote nuclear disarmament under this regime in order to take us from the “reality” we face in the harsh security environment to the “ideal” of a world without nuclear weapons. Minister Hayashi underlined the importance of continuing to send a message that Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons, let alone its use is absolutely unacceptable.
- The G7 reaffirmed its commitment to the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and Japan’s “Hiroshima Action Plan” was received as a welcome contribution by the G7 members. Furthermore, the G7 shared its concerns over China’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal, while confirming the importance of transparency of nuclear arsenal. In addition, the G7 urges China to engage promptly in strategic risk reduction discussions with the U.S. The G7 also confirmed the importance of controlling items and technologies that could be used for military purposes, mainly through multilateral export control regimes.
- The G7 confirmed to continue coordinating closely to the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May, during which nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation will again be featured as an important theme.