Japan ’s decision to skip a major nuclear weapon ban summit – despite the efforts of Nobel Prize-winning campaigners – has sparked condemnation from activists, who have said Tokyo is missing a critical chance to advocate for disarmament. The domestic debate over Japan’s position on nuclear weapons intensified after Nihon Hidankyo , or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organisations, won the Nobel Peace Prize in December for its 68-year campaign against nuclear weapons. The government’s decision not to attend the meeting of signatory states to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in New York from March 3 to 7 is “extremely unfortunate”, according to Hajime Matsukubo, secretary general of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Centre. Adopted in 2017, the TPNW is the first legally
Tag Archives: Japan
Jan
The family of a Japanese national who was just 13 when she was abducted by North Korean agents in 1977 have called on US President Donald Trump to intervene with Pyongyang and bring her and other abductees home – but experts say their wish may remain unfulfilled due to complex geopolitical realities. In a statement released on Tuesday, soon after Trump was sworn into office in Washington, 88-year-old Sakie Yokota said she hoped the president could use his connections with North Korea ’s leader Kim Jong-un to arrange the release of her daughter Megumi. “I want President Trump to urge North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to realise the rescue and return of the abduction victims,” Yokota said. “Mr Trump is a person who can talk with Mr Kim Jong-un.” The