Press Conferences

Mr. Koichi Mizushima: An exchange of letters between the Government of Japan and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concerning a contribution to the destruction of chemical weapons of Syria took place in The Hague, Netherlands, on February 25. Mr. Masaru Tsuji, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands who is also the Permanent Representative of Japan to the OPCW represented the Japan side, and H.E. Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General, the OPCW, represented the OPCW.
In the supplementary budget of the fiscal year 2013, 1.5 billion Yen is allocated for the financial contributions to the OPCW and the United Nations for helping to promote the efforts to destruct chemical weapons in Syria. The Government of Japan will contribute approximately 1.4 billion yen (approximately 13 million euros) of that budgeted amount to the OPCW. A contribution to the UN is currently being discussed with the UN.
In line with the decisions by the OPCW and the UN Security Council Resolution 2118, an international effort is currently underway toward the destruction of chemical weapons of Syria. The Government of Japan intends to make as much cooperation and contribution as possible to the international community’s efforts to destruct chemical weapons of Syria. We believe such cooperation is significant in terms of securing stability in the Middle East region, contributing to efforts by the international community to destruct chemical weapons which is a category of weapons of mass destruction, and showing a strong message of the international community that it never tolerates the possession and use of chemical weapons.