Press Releases
Destruction of Cluster Munitions Completed
1. On February 9, the Government of Japan completed the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions, which was carried out in accordance with the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
2. Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, States Parties shall destroy their stockpiles of cluster munitions within eight years of the conclusion of the Convention. The Government of Japan has fulfilled this obligation.
3. Furthermore, the Government of Japan has undertaken activities to remove unexploded ordnance, including landmines and cluster munitions, and to support victims, and has encouraged States not parties to conclude this Convention. The Government will continue to play a proactive role in these fields.
(Reference) The Convention on Cluster Munitions
1. The Convention entered into force on August 1, 2010. Japan signed the Convention on December 3, 2008, in Oslo, and deposited the Instrument of Acceptance on July 14 of the following year. As of February 10, 2015, there were 89 States Parties to the Convention, including Japan.
2. States Parties undertake never to use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer cluster munitions. They undertake also to destroy stockpiles of munitions under their jurisdiction or administration within eight years in principle, and clear remnants of cluster munitions within 10 years in principle. Additionally, the Convention provides a framework for assistance to victims of cluster munitions, and international cooperation.
3. Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Convention
Each State Party undertakes to destroy or ensure the destruction of (omitted) as soon as possible but not later than eight years after the entry into force of this Convention for that State Party.