"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)
Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] Opening Remarks by H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan at the Seventh CTBT Ministerial Meeting

[Place] New York
[Date] September 26, 2014
[Source] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
[Notes]
[Full text]

Ladies and gentlemen,

I’m delighted to hereby declare the opening of the Seventh CTBT Ministerial Meeting, with the participation of the distinguished ministers and representatives who pay close attention to the importance of CTBT.

CTBT is a legal tool to realize a world free of nuclear weapons. The adoption of the draft text of the CTBT in 1996 was a sign of the firm determination of the international community to ban nuclear testing, and articulated a vision for our future. With the most recent ratification by the Republic of Congo early this month, there are currently 183 State Signatories and 163 ratifying States. The CTBT is making a steady progress toward universalization.

Even today, however, the CTBT is yet to come into force. What is now needed to make it take effect is the political will of each state to reaffirm the vision we shared upon the adoption of the Treaty, along with concrete actions.

CTBT is a Treaty whose entry into force will not be realized until all Annex 2 States ratify it. Thus, among the Annex 2 States, the order in which they ratify the Treaty should not bear any relevance. I would like to call upon each State to give due consideration to this particular feature of the CTBT, and hope to see States take initiatives individually toward early signature and ratification of the Treaty, without paying undue attention to how other States might behave. The entry into force of the CTBT is solely dependent on whether or not the Annex 2 States express their political will and commitment to concur with the spirit of the CTBT.

Next year will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As Foreign Minister of the only country ever to have experienced atomic bombings in war, as well as a person from one of the cities that was bombed, I am determined to lead the promotion of nuclear disarmament. To this end, Japan plans to host a meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons, which was initiated by Executive Secretary Dr. Zerbo, in Hiroshima next year, with the aim of promoting the entry into force of the CTBT. I sincerely hope to witness for myself the day the CTBT comes into force.