Japan to ‘seriously consider’ UN NPT observer status, says Ishiba

Just days after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a grassroots group of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors pushing for the abolition of nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has signaled that his government will “seriously consider” participating as an observer at a conference of signatories to a UN treaty banning weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking on an NHK television program Sunday with other top party leaders, the prime minister was more open to the possibility of Japan joining the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons than not do during a debate a day earlier in preparation for elections to the Lower House on October 27.

Japan, the only country attacked with nuclear weapons, has been criticized for not participating in some form in the treaty.

During Saturday’s debate, Ishiba said only that his “desire to eliminate nuclear weapons has not changed at all.”

Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and other party leaders have called for Japan to “show its seriousness” on the issue and play a “bridge-building” role. between nuclear and non-nuclear. -nuclear weapon states as the gap between the two sides continues to grow.

But while Ishiba, who also serves as chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said “we will not ignore” proposals from ruling coalition partner Komeito and others, he also emphasized the effectiveness of the US nuclear umbrella.

“The fact is that Japan is surrounded by nuclear powers,” he said. “When you don’t know when (nuclear weapons) might be used, the U.S. nuclear deterrent is effective. The question is how to balance the fact that on the one hand we rely on nuclear deterrence, but on the other hand we prohibit it.”

Ishiba has repeatedly stressed his view that nuclear deterrence is necessary in an increasingly difficult security environment, while vowing that nothing like the atomic bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki will ever happen again.

During Saturday’s debate in Tokyo, he pointed specifically to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear weapons after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, saying a similar event in East Asia was not out of the question. the possibility

Still, he acknowledged that he would like to have “comprehensive discussions” about how to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons with the government and opposition parties.

The prime minister’s remarks came as Japan celebrated the Nobel prize win for Nihon Hidankyo, which has long called for a ban on nuclear weapons. In recent years, rogue states like North Korea and Russia have threatened to use nuclear weapons against their enemies, while China has embarked on a nuclear build-up. These moves, along with an already formidable nuclear arsenal in the United States, have threatened to overturn the years-long taboo on nuclear use.

During the LDP leadership election late last month, Ishiba wrote in a commentary that Japan must “consider the distribution of nuclear weapons by the United States or the introduction of nuclear weapons into the region” under a Asian version of NATO to better ensure deterrence.

Later, both the prime minister and members of his cabinet appeared to temper these remarks by framing them as longer-term efforts or issues that should at least be discussed within the party and government.

During Sunday’s television program, which featured the leaders of nine political parties, the CDP’s Noda questioned whether such remarks were appropriate for a Japanese leader.

“At a time like this, I think the international community will suspect whether Japan is really committed to the path of nuclear abolition, whether the Prime Minister has his own ideas about nuclear exchange and allowing the entry of weapons nukes in Japan”.

Over the weekend, the prime minister also continued to redouble his proposal to revise the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement with the United States, a plan that officials in Washington did not seem interested in.

“I know how difficult it would be, but we must not give up,” he said on Saturday. “We’re definitely going to make it happen.”

Ishiba also drew criticism from other party leaders over a political fund scandal that has rocked the LDP.

Answering questions from People’s Democratic Party leader Yuichiro Tamaki, Ishiba reiterated at the Tokyo debate that the LDP is likely to make use of “funds for political activities,” as they are known, in the upcoming election .

“We will use them sparingly,” Ishiba said. “We will not use them illegally in any way.”

However, he also said that it is possible that the funds could be removed in the future and that the issue should be discussed in parliament.

The government and ruling party have come under fire for their reform plans following the slush fund scandal, something Noda called weak and unclear during the debate, with the CDP leader criticizing Ishiba’s decision to call early elections.

The move came just eight days after Ishiba became prime minister, setting a post-war record for the shortest interval between the inauguration of a Japanese leader and the dissolution of the Lower House.

“From my point of view, that means it was a dissolution to hide the bottom of the mud (scandal),” Noda said. “If this is the case, even if the leadership of the LDP changes and the prime minister is replaced, the policy will not change. Therefore, I believe that a change of government is the biggest political reform.”

Ishiba also reiterated that he does not plan to raise the consumption tax during his three-year term as LDP chairman, funding social security programs without changing the 10 percent rate… PACNEWS/JAPAN TIMES