Lyon Summit Information

Japan's Decision to Support a Global Ban on Anti-personnel Landmines

In regions of conflict around the world, anti-personnel landmines left behind after conflicts have caused indiscriminate harm to civilians, posing not only a major humanitarian concern, but also a large obstacle to reconstruction and development once conflicts are settled. This is a result of the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines.

For more than 50 years, Japan has refrained from the operational use of anti-personnel landmines and their export. Still, based on the recognition that the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines can be effectively stopped only through regulation of these weapons in general, Japan and other countries have been conducting international efforts to strengthen such regulation, including the recent amendment of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).

As part of such international efforts, Japan has decided on the following:

1. Japan supports international efforts toward a global ban on anti-personnel landmines.
2. During the interim period until an agreement can be reached on a global ban, Japan will undertake the following unilateral measures on its own initiative:

   (1)Japan will appropriately advance necessary measures to modify its anti-personnel landmines into self-destructing ones.

   (2)Japan will not plan new acquisition of non-self-destructing anti-personnel landmines.

   (3)Japan will not make operational use of non-self-destructing anti-personnel landmines, even in cases where their use is permitted by the strengthened CCW protocol on landmines.

   (4)Japan will promptly pursue study of alternatives to anti-personnel landmines that will not inflict damage on civilians.

   During the interim period, the unilateral measures described above would be reviewed only in cases where Japan was put under the threat of aggression and there was no viable alternative means to defend itself. However, even in that event, Japan would abide by the strengthened CCW protocol on landmines.

3. Japan will continue to refrain from exporting any landmines.