Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

At the United Nations Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters meeting held in New York in 2000, the issue was raised that in order to break the current stagnation in nuclear disarmament, vigorous efforts must begin with the education of the younger generation. Based on this, at the 55th UN General Assembly held in the same year, a resolution was submitted requesting the Secretary-General to evaluate the current status of disarmament and non-proliferation education and to prepare research to promote it, which was unanimously adopted.

In accordance with this resolution, a group of governmental experts on disarmament and non-proliferation education (consisting of 10 experts from governments, NGOs, and research institutes, with Mr. Amano from Japan, then Minister, Embassy of Japan to the United States) was formed in 2001. The group met four times, and in August 2002, the "United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education" was submitted to the Secretary-General. The study stressed the importance of disarmament and non-proliferation education, and made 34 specific recommendations to various countries, international organizations and others.

As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during war, and from the standpoint that strengthening the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime is a major diplomatic issue, Japan has been conducting the following projects to promote disarmament and non-proliferation education, based on the above study and resolutions as well.

(1) Implementation of the Joint Statement in the NPT Review Process and Submission of Working Papers on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education

　　Japan has been leading the Joint Statement on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education with the aim of reminding States Parties of the need for disarmament and non-proliferation education efforts in the NPT Review Process and of practical ways to promote disarmament and non-proliferation education, as well as to demonstrate once again Japan's presence in this field. In the same process, under Japan's leadership, a total of four working papers on disarmament and non-proliferation education were submitted in 2019 as the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI). In these documents, the NPDI has emphasized the importance of involving the younger generation, who will lead the next generation, and of utilizing social media and other means.

(2) Special Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons/ Youth Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons

In September 2010, the government of Japan launched a program to commission Hibakusha and others as "Special Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons" to give testimonies based on their own experiences at various international forums and conferences. In June 2013, the government also launched the "Youth Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons" program to pass on the reality of the nuclear weapon use to the next generation (youth), as the atomic bombing survivors continue to age. Furthermore, in March 2016, the network of the Youth Communicator was decided to be internationalized in order to promote the transmission of the reality of the nuclear weapon use beyond national borders.

(3) United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Program

　

In 1978, the First Special Sessions of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament decided to implement the UN Disarmament Fellowship Program to train disarmament experts, especially in developing countries. In accordance with this decision, every year since 1979, mid-career diplomats and defense ministry officials from disarmament-related countries have participated in the fellowship program, visiting international organizations, institutes, and countries tied with disarmament and non-proliferation to deepen their knowledge.

In relation to Japan, at the Special Sessions of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament in 1982, then Prime Minister Suzuki proposed that the participants of the Fellowship Program be invited to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and since the following year, 1983, around 25 participants have been invited to Japan every year. 2019 will mark the 37th time that the Fellowship Program has invited participants to Japan, and a total of over 950 diplomats and other officials have visited Japan during this period. In 2021, a Japan-related program was held in an online format with 19 participants (the entire program was canceled in 2020 due to the spread of the COVID-19). Participants were briefed on Japan's disarmament and non-proliferation policies, and learned about Japan's experience as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during war through their visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, exposing them to the reality of the atomic bombings.

Many of the diplomats currently working at the forefront of disarmament diplomacy around the world are graduates of this program, and many of them have said that they were extremely impressed by their visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As can be seen from this, inviting the Fellowship Program participants to Japan will be extraordinarily meaningful for Japan to appeal to the world about the inhumanity of nuclear weapons based on our own atomic bombed experiences and to promote Japan's efforts in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation to the world.