Press Releases

1 On March 26th and 27th, the second meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament (EPG) was held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo. The meeting was attended by a total of 15 EPG international and Japanese members, including the Chair, Professor Takashi SHIRAISHI (President, Institute of the Asian Economic Studies, Japan External Trade Organization).

2 The EPG actively discussed the latest international situation surrounding nuclear disarmament and necessary measures for substantive advancement of nuclear disarmament, aiming to finalize a recommendation, based upon the discussions at the first EPG meeting held in November last year in Hiroshima. Moreover, the group also discussed the middle and long-term measures to realize a world free of nuclear weapons, which goes beyond the scope of this year’s recommendation. In this regard, the EPG members agreed to continue their discussions in the next Japanese fiscal year.

3 During the two-days session, the series of events were held, including a working dinner hosted by Foreign Minister KONO on Monday, March 26th, the roundtable with the members of the National Diet of Japan from various parliamentary associations on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on Tuesday, March 27th, followed by a dinner hosted by Mr. Mitsunari OKAMOTO, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.