Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

Japan's Approach to Nuclear Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

Japan believes that it is necessary to take practical yet concrete steps to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world and recognizes the importance of pursuing a path toward nuclear arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation on which a large majority of countries in the international community agree. From this point of view, Japan believes that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is playing a fundamental role for global nuclear non-proliferation and the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. Japan further attaches importance to such concrete steps as the entry-into-force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) process. Japan has been active in promoting nuclear arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation in various fora of the United Nations, particularly in the UN General Assembly. Since 1994, Japan has been submitting a draft resolution on nuclear disarmament to the General Assembly every year, which has constantly been adopted with overwhelming support.

2000 NPT Review Conference

The most recent NPT Review Conference, which is convened once every five years to review the operation of the Treaty, was held at the UN headquarters from 24 April to 19 May 2000. It was the first Review Conference since the Treaty was indefinitely extended at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, and it was held at a time when the environment surrounding nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation had been extremely severe since the late 1990s. Overcoming several crises of rupture, the Conference adopted a final document by consensus, which included steps for nuclear disarmament in the future. The achievement of the Conference was brought about by the strong will of all participating countries to make the final agreement possible.

With the strong recognition that the failure of the Conference should not be allowed, from an early stage in the preparation period Japan actively engaged in consultations with the governments of the nuclear-weapon states, of the Non-Alignment Movement states and others, as well as with Ambassador Abudallah Baali, President of the Conference, stressing the necessity of the success of the Conference. Furthermore, Japan's eight-item proposal on future measures paved the way for the adoption of the final document of the Conference by consensus.

Tokyo Forum for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament

In response to the nuclear testing in South Asia in May 1998, the Tokyo Forum for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, a track 2 forum, was established under the initiative of the Government of Japan to maintain and strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The Forum met four times and issued a report in July 1999 containing recommendations for the future course of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The report was subsequently submitted to the UN Secretary-General and distributed to Member States as a UN document.

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

After two and a half years of intensive negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) at the Conference on Disarmament and the subsequent failure of its adoption, the Treaty was adopted instead by the UN General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (by a vote of 158 for, 3 against and 5 abstentions) and opened for signature. After almost four years since then, however, the CTBT has not yet entered into force, for which ratification by the 44 countries specifically named in the Treaty is required. Pursuant to article XIV of the Treaty, the UN Secretary-General, the depositary of the Treaty, convened the Conference on facilitating the entry-into-force of the CTBT in October 1999. Then-Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura of Japan chaired the Conference and led it successfully to issue a strong political message for an early entry-into-force. To follow-up with the Conference, Japan has been taking initiatives to urge early ratification by non-ratifiers through the dispatch of high-level missions.

Japan is also contributing to the establishment of the International Monitoring System to verify compliance to the Treaty by Party states in various ways. Japan, for instance, has been organizing an introductory program for human resources development in seismology in developing countries and providing them with seismological monitoring equipment.

Cooperation for the Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons

With weapons of mass destruction being reduced through, for example, the START process, the following tasks are taking on growing importance in terms of promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation: the dismantlement of nuclear weapons, the management and disposal of resultant fissile materials extracted from dismantled nuclear weapons, and the prevention of fissile material smuggling and outflow of scientists who were involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction during the Cold War era.

In these areas, Japan has been assisting with the dismantlement of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union. Japan, for instance, is providing assistance to Russia with regard to the dismantlement of decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines in the Far East and the management and disposition of Russian surplus weapons-grade plutonium. At the G8 Cologne summit in June 1999, then-Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi announced the extension of financial assistance totaling US$ 200 million for the dismantlement of nuclear weapons of the former Soviet Union.

UN Register of Conventional Arms

The unchecked transfer and excessive accumulation of conventional weapons also act as destabilizing factors in many regions of the world. In civil wars witnessed in various regions of Africa and elsewhere, for example, this has resulted in the escalation of combat and an enormous loss of life.

As a result of an initiative by Japan and the then-European Community (EC) member states, the UN Register of Conventional Arms was launched in January 1992 in order to improve the transparency and openness of arms transfers. This measure has become increasingly important in building confidence at the global level. It requires nations to register with the United Nations their volumes of annual exports and imports in seven categories of equipment, namely battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and missiles/missile launchers.

Japan has played a major role in ensuring the smooth operation of this Register. The Government of Japan, for instance, has sponsored workshops on the UN Register of Conventional Arms to strengthen and further develop the Register in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2000.

Small Arms

Although the likelihood of large-scale international armed conflicts in the current post-Cold War world seems to be receding, smaller ethnic confrontations and civil wars have become more common, and the huge number of small arms and light weapons used in them (e.g. assault rifles, pistols, and, submachine guns) constitute a new threat to peace. The transfer, especially by illicit trafficking, of small arms and light weapons is increasingly frequent. Moreover, even in regions where conflicts have ended, the easy availability of such weapons hampers social, economic, and political restoration.

Japan has been playing a leading role in global efforts to address the issue of small arms, and its contributions have been highly regarded in the international community. Japan proposed a resolution on small arms to the UN General Assembly in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 1999, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority every time.

The UN panel of 16 governmental experts, established in 1996 pursuant to the 1995 UN General Assembly resolution sponsored by Japan and chaired by Ambassador Mitsuru Donowaki, a Japanese member of the panel, prepared a comprehensive report by the Secretary-General on how to tackle the problem with a list of 24 concrete recommendations. The 1997 UN General Assembly resolution endorsed these recommendations, and decided to establish a new group of governmental experts to review progress made in the implementation of the recommendations of the report and to recommend further actions to be taken. The new group, chaired by Ambassador Mitsuru Donowaki once again, recommended 27 specific measures in the Secretary-General's report submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1999.

The UN General Assembly resolution Japan proposed in 1999 decided to convene the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects in 2001. Japan is determined to endeavor its utmost for the success of the Conference.

Japan has also provided substantial financial assistance for post-conflict weapons collection and economic recovery. Japan's total financial assistance in the related areas has amounted to about US$ 3.6 million in the 1996-2000 period.

Anti-Personnel Landmines

The international community has been aware from the beginning of the 1990s that anti-personnel landmines planted during armed conflicts were causing serious casualties among civilians, as witnessed in Cambodia and Afghanistan. With international opinion leaning increasingly toward a total ban on anti-personnel landmines, swift progress was made in the process of drafting a treaty, and the Ottawa Convention was adopted in September 1997, banning the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines and making their destruction obligatory. On 1 March 1999, the treaty entered into force.

Having concluded the Ottawa Convention in September 1998, Japan has been actively making efforts to ensure the universality and effectiveness of the treaty by making approaches to states not yet party to the Convention. Japan is also working with concerned countries toward the early initiation of negotiations for a treaty banning the transfer of anti-personnel landmines, which could well garner the participation of countries unlikely to conclude the Ottawa Treaty in the near future.

Victim Assistance

Japan held the Tokyo Conference on Anti-Personnel Landmines in March 1997, which was the first comprehensive meeting to examine steps to strengthen international measures dealing with the humanitarian aspect of this issue, namely demining and victim assistance. At this conference Japan drafted the Tokyo Guidelines, which aims at a goal of "Zero Victims," partly by strengthening the role of the UN as a focal point for more effective coordination of assistance for demining activities, etc.

In order to put the Tokyo Guidelines into practice, Japan introduced the "Zero Victims Programme" at the signing conference in Ottawa, and announced it would provide about 10 billion yen in assistance through its ODA programmes over a five-year period beginning in 1998. Japan also decided to support a conference to be held by Cambodia in October 1998 for mine-infested countries to share their experiences.

In this regard, Japan has decided, under certain conditions, to waive the restrictions it usually applies on arms exports, namely the "three principles on arms exports," and its collateral policy guideline in order to export materials necessary for humanitarian demining activities, as part of its material support for strengthening efforts on the anti-personnel landmine issue.

UN Conference on Disarmament Issues in Japan

In his speech at the third UN General Assembly Special Session on Disarmament, held in 1988, then-Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita expressed Japan's willingness to host a UN conference regarding disarmament matters, and accordingly, the UN Conference on Disarmament Issues has been held in Japan every year since 1989.

Participants have included senior government officials as well as non-governmental experts and other representatives from Japan and abroad. There have been spirited discussions at each conference, which are expected to provide a stimulus to deliberations on arms control and disarmament at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and at the United Nations.

History of Nuclear Disarmament

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