Ms. Beatrice Fihn, the Swedish-born Executive Director of the Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons(ICAN), visited Japan in mid-January of this year. She was the one who received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of her organization at Oslo, Norway, last year. ICAN was awarded the Prize as it was instrumental in having the Non-Nuclear Weapons Treaty approved by the UN in July of the same year.
She first visited Nagasaki as she came at the invitation of Nagasaki University. After that she also visited Hiroshima and Tokyo. I was happy to see that she was meeting the hibakusha(radioactivity-affected persons, those who had survived the bombs), experts on the different aspects of the subject, the Press, and the people of the civil society wherever she went. But the discussion that she had with the Members of the Parliament on 16 of the month was also as important. As many as ten political parties sent their representatives both from the government and the opposition sides. I must add, to my regret, that the Prime Minister has apparently avoided meeting her.
The most important points that she made at the above meeting with the MPs were probably two. She strongly suggested that Japan should join the Treaty as the theory of nuclear deterrence that the Japanese government believed in was powerless. It was only a myth. She also said that even in the presence of the DPRK's nuclear threat, it would be much more realistic to adhere to the Treaty to arrive at a peaceful solution.
One more point she made and which strongly impressed me was what she said in reply to a question at the Press Conference at Tokyo. When asked if she could be optimistic on the ratification of the Treaty when only three countries had ratified it so far, she said, in essence, that the very fact showed that the US is putting pressure on even the small countries in Africa and elsewhere not to ratify it, which itself shows that the Treaty is going to be a serious threat to the nuclear powers.
After this Mexico has ratified as the 4th country.
At the moment there are 9 nuclear powers and about 30 militarily allied countries. They are not easily expected to support the Treaty. Japan belongs to the latter category. But even in some NATO countries in the latter group, like Norway and Italy, some movement may get started to support it. Japan may well join such a movement. The number of the countries that voted for the Treaty was 122, which is by far the big majority and shows the new winds of change. A Happy New Year to you all.
She first visited Nagasaki as she came at the invitation of Nagasaki University. After that she also visited Hiroshima and Tokyo. I was happy to see that she was meeting the hibakusha(radioactivity-affected persons, those who had survived the bombs), experts on the different aspects of the subject, the Press, and the people of the civil society wherever she went. But the discussion that she had with the Members of the Parliament on 16 of the month was also as important. As many as ten political parties sent their representatives both from the government and the opposition sides. I must add, to my regret, that the Prime Minister has apparently avoided meeting her.
The most important points that she made at the above meeting with the MPs were probably two. She strongly suggested that Japan should join the Treaty as the theory of nuclear deterrence that the Japanese government believed in was powerless. It was only a myth. She also said that even in the presence of the DPRK's nuclear threat, it would be much more realistic to adhere to the Treaty to arrive at a peaceful solution.
One more point she made and which strongly impressed me was what she said in reply to a question at the Press Conference at Tokyo. When asked if she could be optimistic on the ratification of the Treaty when only three countries had ratified it so far, she said, in essence, that the very fact showed that the US is putting pressure on even the small countries in Africa and elsewhere not to ratify it, which itself shows that the Treaty is going to be a serious threat to the nuclear powers.
After this Mexico has ratified as the 4th country.
At the moment there are 9 nuclear powers and about 30 militarily allied countries. They are not easily expected to support the Treaty. Japan belongs to the latter category. But even in some NATO countries in the latter group, like Norway and Italy, some movement may get started to support it. Japan may well join such a movement. The number of the countries that voted for the Treaty was 122, which is by far the big majority and shows the new winds of change. A Happy New Year to you all.
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