Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

Statements by Ratifiers and Signatories to the CTBT

Japan


PERMANENT MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN VIENNA

ADDRESS BY

H.E. MR. MASAHIKO KOUMURA
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF JAPAN

TO THE CONFERENCE ON FACILITATING THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY

6 OCTOBER 1999

STATEMENT BY H. E. KOUMURA, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF JAPAN

Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Vienna, 1999

Mr. Vice-President,
Mr. Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr. Executive Secretary of the Provisional Technical Secretariat,
Distinguished Delegates,

It gives me a great pleasure to make a statement on behalf of the Government of Japan at such a historic conference. At the outset, I would like to take this occasion to say a few words about the accident at the Uranium conversion plant in Tokai-mura, which occurred on September 30th. With the basic principle of its energy policy being "the establishment of nuclear fuel cycle", Japan has maintained rigid restrictions on its use of nuclear power only for a peaceful purpose and has devoted great care to securing its safety. The accident was indeed deplorable and had a grave significance to my country. We are determined to ascertain the cause of the accident, and renew our firm resolution to ensure the safety in the future. Thanks to all of you, the emergency has been settled. I would like to take this occasion to express our deepest gratitude to the international community which has kindly offered its assistance with regard to this incident.

Mr. Vice-President,

I wish to express my highest respect and deepest appreciation to Mr. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, who successfully convened this conference; Ms. Louise Frechette, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, and the UN Secretariat; Mr. Schussel, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria and the Government of Austria. which as host, has been devoted to organizing this conference; Dr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, the Executive Secretary of the Provisional Technical Secretariat; and, all others concerned.

A decade after the end of the Cold War, on the threshold of the 21st century, our ultimate goal of eliminating nuclear weapons still seems, to my regret, a great distance away. As mankind, we have to learn lessons from the experiences of war and bloodshed in this century, and to aim to realize a world free of nuclear weapons in the coming century.

In the history of nuclear disarmament, it was of crucial significance that in September 1996, the 50th UN General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which prohibits "all nuclear weapon test explosions and all other nuclear explosions" including underground nuclear tests and provides for the establishment of the international verification regime to ensure the effective implementation of the Treaty.

As the only country in the world to have suffered the tragedy of atomic bombings, Japan ratified the Treaty at an early stage with a view to contributing to international cooperation for practical and steady nuclear disarmament towards a world free of such weapons. Japan has also been urging others to sign and ratify this historic instrument as soon as possible.

In three years since its opening for signature, the Treaty has been signed by 154 countries and ratified by 51 countries among them. It has been universally perceived as a framework of considerable importance in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. On the other hand, it is regrettable that the requirements for the entry into force of the Treaty are far from being met. At this conference, it is imperative to issue a strong message which urges non-signatories and non-ratifiers to sign and ratify the Treaty at the earliest possible date.

Mr. Vice-President,

Japan calls on the countries listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty, whose ratifications are required for its entry into force, to do so as expeditiously as possible. This should be done before April next year when the NPT review conference will be held.

First, we urge the nuclear weapon states under the NPT regime who have not yet ratified the treaty, namely the United States, Russia, and China, to do so. I believe that their ratifications will not only promote early entry into force of the treaty, but also contribute to the success of the NPT review conference.

Second, Japan urges India, Pakistan, and North Korea, whose ratifications are required for the entry into force of the Treaty, to sign and ratify the Treaty at the earliest possible date. At the same time, Japan calls on the international community to urge these three countries to sign and ratify.

Third, Japan urges Israel, which has not yet adhered to the NPT but is a signatory of the CTBT, to accelerate its ratification process.

Fourth, Japan further encourages and supports the efforts of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in providing incentives for. the non-ratifiers listed in Annex 2 to ratify the Treaty, for example, convening International Cooperation Workshops. Japan, on its part, will redouble its diplomatic efforts to encourage their ratifications, through such efforts as the provision of official development assistance, dispatching missions and providing assistance for the countries which require know-how in verification technology.

Mr. Vice-President,

In order to ensure that the Treaty's obligations can be fully observed, Japan sincerely hopes that verification regime can be established soon. In this regard, Japan greatly appreciates the efforts which the Provisional Technical Secretariat has been making and believes that it plays a crucially important role in setting up the regime.

Japan is steadily proceeding with the construction and improvement of 10 monitoring facilities for the international verification of nuclear tests. It has also carried out technical training programs and paid its share of expenses under the treaty without delay. Japan is willing to provide any assistance possible in establishing the regime for the effective implementation of the treaty.

The international community should exercise its wisdom and mobilize its resources to consolidate its stance on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament to achieve the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Japan believes that the entry into force of the CTBT will be a giant and epoch-making step forward in the history of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and is committed to playing an active role in contributing to its early realization.

Thank you.


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