Japanese affiliate urges NPT Review to take stronger steps toward abolition
[The following statement was issued by JPPNW (Japanese Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) upon the commencement of the 2010 NPT Review Conference.]
We urge for a stronger step towards the nuclear abolition!
Since founded in 1980, the IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) has continued to appeal that nuclear abolition is the absolute prerequisite for the protection of human health and the global environment. Ever since the US President Barack Obama said ”the United States will take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons” in his Prague speech in April 2009, people’s concerns and hopes for the abolition of nuclear weapons have been growing around the globe. Mayors for Peace, which calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons by the year 2020 in their Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, has as many as 4,000 city members throughout the world. Now is the opportunity for the world to progress to nuclear abolition.
The ICNND (International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament), which was established at the initiative of Japan and Australia, released their final report in December 2009 and urged nuclear armed states to promptly declare that the sole purpose of possessing nuclear weapons is to deter others from using such weapons against them or their allies and they will not use nuclear weapons against NPT-compliant non-nuclear states and to aim to abolish nuclear weapons. Former world leaders attended the 28th InterAction Council (OB Summit) Annual Plenary Meeting held in Hiroshima this April. They adopted the Hiroshima Declaration: “A Plea for Zero Nuclear Weapons”, calling for the promotion of a comprehensive nuclear treaty architecture, aiming at the elimination of nuclear weapons, and a resolution by the UN General Assembly and Security Council declaring that uses of nuclear weapons would constitute a crime against humanity. They also suggested concrete action plans for the immediate future.
The world is now at the crossroads: one road leading to nuclear abolition and the other leading to limitless proliferation. At this timely-held 2010 NPT Review Conference, it is necessary to form a strong agreement to fully implement the Article VI of NPT or strive for nuclear abolition and to reconfirm the 13 steps agreed in the 2000 Review Conference and make an agreement in regard to additional items. In the face of today’s circumstances where nuclear energy generation programs are increasing in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we strongly support strengthened authority and functions of IAEA, measures to discourage withdrawal from the NPT, and the development of frameworks and technologies to prevent nuclear fissile material from proliferating in the course of civilian use of nuclear energy. Without an agreement for concrete action plans toward nuclear abolition in this Review Conference, the global hopes for nuclear abolition would be stalled. As nuclear abolition movement is delayed, the possibility of nuclear-weapon acquisition by states and non-state actors will increase. And the risk of nuclear-weapon use will be heightened. We need to mobilize international public opinion, and act for the preparation and implementation of the roadmap to prompt nuclear abolition.
We recognize that this NPT Review Conference provides opportunity to start concrete actions for nuclear abolition. Held at this time of mounting public opinion, the 2010 NPT Review Conference has to be a strong step toward nuclear abolition. We urge the Japanese Government to take the lead on commencing concrete actions for nuclear abolition as the only nation to suffer atomic bombings. We call for people and governments around the world to join forces to make the achievement of nuclear abolition come true. Furthermore, we hope that world leaders including President Obama will visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to realize that nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist and demonstrate their firm determination for achieving nuclear abolition.
Shizuteru Usui
President, Japanese Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
President, Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association
April 30, 2010
Comments are closed.
Bjorn Hilt
Charles K. Johnson
Gunnar Westberg
IPPNW
John Loretz
Lawrence Wittner
Maria Valenti
Sue Wareham
Tilman Ruff
Tim Wright
Xanthe Hall
IPPNW peace and health blog 
John Loretz’ comment is correct. But, if there is no production-possibility, all atomic-weapons disappeare nearly on its own. So in my opinion the most necessary is to put away all reactors and all linear-and circle-accellerators all over the world, because first of all there were these “breeders” and then – later “scientists” had the bombs in their hands. Cause and reaction are very clear. First there are the means of production – atomicpiles and reactors – and then you can produce atomicweapons. There are no civil or peaceful nuklear-reactors.
One of the most important things the Japanese government can do is put an end to its own reliance on US nuclear weapons. Extended deterrence is not a nuclear umbrella over Japan; it’s a nuclear bull’s eye, making Japan a vicarious nuclear-weapon state and increasing its insecurity. The idea that Japan somehow benefits from extended deterrence should be re-examined and discredited. That would be a very concrete step toward abolition, and would remove a major impediment along the path to a nuclear-weapons-free world.