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Japan to propose early implementation of CTBT at NTP review session

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tokyo, April 10, Kyodo/OANA/IRNA -- Japan will propose that participants at a forthcoming international nuclear conference include a statement urging an early implementation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in a final document to be adopted at the end of the meeting, government officials said Sunday.

Outlining Japan's negotiations strategy constructed for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference that begins May 2 in New York, the officials said Tokyo will urge the participating nations to reduce 'nuclear armaments of all kinds' as the only nation ever to have been attacked with nuclear weapons.

The strategy has also been set in light of the 60th anniversary this year of the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, they said, adding that Tokyo intends to convince the United States, which has voiced opposition to the inclusion of the statement, of an early implementation of the treaty.

A senior official of the Foreign Ministry said, "There is no country other than the United States that is against CTBT
ratification. There is a possibility for the United States to make a concession."
As for the CTBT, the US side will stress that its suspension of nuclear tests since 1992 on the basis of possible resumption in the future is not intended to pave the way for the 1996 treaty to come into effect.

The Japanese government intends to jointly propose the statement with Austria, as they did in the previous NTP review conference in 2000, and is currently adjusting the wording in the statement to be proposed in the coming NTP meeting, expected to last about one month.

The May meeting will be held to restudy the NPT adopted five years ago in which the signatory countries clearly pledged to abolish nuclear arms.

The meeting will focus on nuclear arms reduction by possessing countries and prevention of nuclear proliferation to countries without nuclear weapons as well as peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Japan will also urge tactical nuclear weapons reduction as well as a cutoff treaty for fissile materials at the May meeting.

As for the nuclear nonproliferation, Japan will primarily propose promoting ratification of an additional protocol to boost inspection power of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as an appeal urging North Korea, which has declared a breakaway from the NPT, to abandon its nuclear development program.

The United States has shown an attitude to water down 13-article agreements reached in the 2000 review conference but Japan will try to come up with concrete measures for the agreements as the articles have already been agreed on, the foreign ministry official said.

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::IRNA No.048 10/04/2005 19:50 --End