Press Releases

Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s Visit to Canada, Switzerland and Belgium

April 20, 2018

1. Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will visit Toronto, Canada, Geneva, Swiss Confederation, and Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, from April 21 to 25.

2. In Toronto, Minister Kono is scheduled to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to carry out frank exchanges of views among the G7 members regarding pressing issues facing the international community and regional situations.

3. In Geneva, Minister Kono is scheduled to attend the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conferenference of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (the 2nd PrepCom of the 2020 NPT RevCon), to make a statement of the General Debate, and to provide inputs of the recommendations submitted by the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament. Minister Kono also will hold meetings with Ambassador Adam Bugajski, Chair of the 2nd PrepCom of the 2020 NPT RevCon to exchange candit opinions on maintaining and strenghtening the NPT regime and with Mr. Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

4. In Brussels, Minister Kono is scheduled to attend the second Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the Region” to lay out Japan’s engagement in the issues of Syria. During the conference, Mr.Kono will exchange views on the situation in Syria with participating Foreigm Ministers and other senior officals.

(Reference 1) Itinerary of Minister Kono’s visit
April 21 Depart Haneda
 arrive Toronto
22 Attend G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
23 Attend G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
 Depart Toronto
24 Arrive Geneva
 Attend the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conferenference of the NPT
 Depart Geneva
 Arrive Brussels
25 Attend Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the Region”XX
 Depart Brussels

(Reference 2) G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

The meeting will be attended by the Foreign Ministers of the United States, Italy, France, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan and and the High Representative of the EU. This year the meeting will be chaired by Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada.

(Reference 3) Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament (EPG)

(1) Purpose
Based upon the backdrop of the deterioration of international security environment and emerging differences on approaches towards a word free of nuclear weapons between nuclea-weapon states (NWSs) and non-nuclear-weapon States (NNWSs), and even among N-NWS, “the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Weapons (EPG)” aims to rebuild confidence among states with different approaches on nuclear disarmament, to propose the recommendations to advance a concrete and practical pathway towards a world free of nuclear weapons, and to provide an input to the Second Praparatory Committee of the 2020 NPT review conference.

(2) Members
The EPG is consisted by total sixteen members (six Japanese members including the Chair and ten international members from NWSs, the states in middle gound and the states promoting Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons). In addition to prominent experts on disarmament and non-proliferation, some of the members are from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

(3) Schedule

2017 November 27 - 28 The first meeting of EPG in Hiroshima
2018 March 26 - 27 The second meeting of EPG in Tokyo
2018 April 23 - May4 The Second Preparatory Committee of the 2020 NPT Review Conference

(Reference 4) Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the Region”

Co-chaired by the European Union and the United Nations,the Conference will deal with a)political solution in Syria, b)unhindered implematation of humanitarian assistance, and c)maintenance of international assistance. The Ministerial Conference will take place on April 25 with approximately 70 countries and organizations, followed by Dialogue Event with NGOs on April 24. It is the second time for EU to host the Conference on Syria since April 2017.


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