Press Releases
The 18th Asia Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP)
December 14, 2023
On December 12 and 13, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan hosted the 18th Asia Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP). Government officials including Director-Generals in charge from ASEAN member states, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan participated in the meeting.
- This meeting was chaired by Mr. KITAGAWA Katsuro, Ambassador, Director-General of Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department and the participants actively exchanged views mainly on the following topics:
- Proliferation challenges in Asia, including proliferation financing, proliferation of missiles and related technologies;
- Efforts and challenges in strengthening export control and cooperation in capacity building; and
- International efforts on non-proliferation such as Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and IAEA Safeguards and the Additional Protocol.
- During the meeting, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs FUKAZAWA Yoichi hosted a reception to welcome the participants and delivered his remarks to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the meeting. He noted that the international situation surrounding non-proliferation has changed dramatically over the past two decades and stressed that strengthening the international non-proliferation regime is essential for Asia to continue to be a global growth centre.