Japan skips UN nuclear arms conference to avoid 'wrong message' over US deterrence
Japan has decided not to attend a United Nations conference on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, as Tokyo feels it might send the "wrong message" regarding US deterrence.
Washington's nuclear arsenal remains crucial to the island country's security, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday.
'Under the severe security environment, nuclear deterrence is indispensable to defend the people's lives and assets, as well as Japan's sovereignty and peace,' Hayashi told reporters.
Japan's presence at the event could 'interfere with our effort in security, peace and safety," he added.
The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in 2017 and enforced since 2021, was established after a prolonged global campaign to prevent a recurrence of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
Despite being the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, Japan has refused to sign the treaty, arguing that its aims are unrealistic without the participation of nuclear-armed states.
Hayashi stated that attending as an observer could also undermine Japan's efforts to strengthen the Non-Proliferation Treaty and obstruct nuclear disarmament discussions.
However, he did not elaborate on Japan's next steps.
Criticism from advocacy groups
Japanese officials maintain that they support the goal of a nuclear-free world but argue that Japan must take a pragmatic approach given escalating global tensions.
The decision has drawn criticism from atomic bombing survivors and advocacy groups, who accuse the government of making symbolic commitments to disarmament while relying on the US nuclear umbrella.
The survivors' organisation, Nihon Hidankyo, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has called on the government to attend the conference.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a defence specialist and an advocate of nuclear deterrence, has campaigned for a more transparent debate on the role of US extended deterrence in the region.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
Italy's citizenship referendum fails due to low turnout
A referendum on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labor laws in Italy has failed due to low voter turnout, in a win for Giorgia Meloni, whose government urged people to boycott it. Over 50% of voters had to participate to validate the two-day referendum but by close of polls on Monday, June 9, just over 30% of those eligible had done so. The referendum proposal, triggered by a grassroots campaign and backed by the center-left Democratic Party (PD), would have reduced the time it takes to get citizenship. A non-EU adult resident without marriage or blood ties to Italy must currently live in the country for 10 years before they can apply – a process which can then take years more. A referendum win would have cut this to five years, putting Italy in line with Germany and France. But Prime Minister Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritized cutting irregular immigration even as her government has increased the number of migrant work visas, had said she was "absolutely against" the idea. And many members of her right-wing coalition urged people not to vote to prevent the threshold being met. The ballot included one question on citizenship. The four others were on increasing protections for workers who are dismissed, in precarious situations or involved in workplace accidents. CGIL general secretary Maurizio Landini slammed the low turnout as a sign of a "clear democratic crisis" in Italy. Under new leadership, the PD – which is polling behind Meloni's far-right Fratelli d'Italia – had sought to woo working-class voters by backing the referendum. Giovanbattista Fazzolari, Meloni's right-hand man, said the opposition "wanted to turn this referendum into a referendum on the Meloni government." "The answer seems very clear: the government emerges even stronger and the left even weaker," he told journalists in Rome. Even had it passed, the reform would not have affected a migration law many consider unfair: that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Referendum in Italy to fail as turnout far below threshold, poll shows
A referendum in Italy on citizenship requirements and job protection is likely to have failed, as turnout was far below the required threshold, polling agency YouTrend said on Monday. Turnout needed to be at least 50% plus one vote to make the referendum results binding, but based on data collected from 60,000 polling stations, turnout was around 30%. The referendum, proposed by trade unions and civic organisations, addresses issues that have generated political debate in Italy in recent years, particularly labour market reform, primarily the 2016 Labour Act, as well as migrant reception and integration policies. The first four questions relate to labour issues and concern the increasing protection of workers, small enterprises and their obligations towards employees, short-term contracts, and the responsibility of clients towards subcontracting parties and employees' safety. The fifth question concerns the period of time necessary for non-EU nationals residing in the country to be eligible for Italian citizenship, proposing to reduce it from 10 to five years. The parties of the ruling coalition, led by Premier Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, opposed the referendum, with some politicians urging citizens not to participate in the vote. According to the advocacy group International Democracy Community, although opposition parties have supported the referendum, it is primarily a citizens' initiative and not a political matter. "The referendum questions were proposed through a bottom-up approach, and did not come from parliament," the International Democracy Community said in a statement. "Members of the Europa+ party launched the initiative on the citizenship question, whilst the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) has been the initiator of the Labour Act ones, with support from the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and the Green and Left Alliance." According to exit data after polls closed at 3 pm, the "yes" vote for the four labour law questions stood at around 85%, while 60% of voters said yes to the citizenship question. The referendum coincided with local elections in several Italian regions and municipalities.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
UN urges countries to ratify landmark High Seas Treaty
A landmark international treaty to protect the high seas is on the brink of receiving the 60 ratifications needed to become binding international law, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. In his opening remarks at the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), Macron claimed that the agreement has gained enough support to come into force. He told attendees that 50 countries had now ratified the treaty, and another 15 have "formally committed" to joining them. This "allows us to say that the High Seas Treaty will soon be implemented," Macron added, though he didn't give a specific time frame. Despite the French President's comments, the United Nations website still lists the total at 32 official ratifications - too few for the treaty to come into force. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders to ratify the treaty, warning that fishing, plastic pollution and rising sea temperatures were destroying ocean ecosystems. 'The ocean is the ultimate shared resource. But we are failing it,' he said. Ahead of UNOC, the EU and six of its member states announced their ratificationof the treaty. Spain and France already did so earlier this year. At the opening of the summit on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had pledged €40 million in funding for the Global Ocean programme to 'bring the High Seas Treaty to life'. This money will go towards supporting African, Caribbean and Pacific nations in their efforts to ratify and implement the agreement. 'We all know the Treaty is a crucial instrument to protect our Ocean beyond borders,' she said. 'And indeed, we made it – the Treaty was agreed and adopted. And today, we are inches away from the 60 signatures for ratification.' The High Seas Treaty - also referred to as the Biodiversity Beyond National Borders agreement (BBNJ) - will allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters for the first time. These areas cover around two-thirds of the world's oceans but are largely ungoverned. They are managed through a patchwork of regional fisheries agreements, shipping conventions and scattered marine protected areas. The agreement is intended to support the protection of these bodies of water that are outside of international jurisdictions. Officially adopted in 2023 after nearly two decades of negotiations, 60 ratifications are needed for the treaty to become binding international law - something France was hoping would happen before UNOC. The agreement will enter into force 120 days after the 60th ratification. Conservationists are celebrating a proposal from the UK government to ban bottom trawling in dozens more marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs are sections of the ocean that a country aims to protect because they are of particular ecological importance. Bottom trawling - a destructive type of fishing that drags weighted nets across the seafloor - is allowed in many of these sensitive areas. Currently, only four of the UK's 377 MPAs are fully protected from bottom-towed fishing gear - an area covering 18,000 square kilometres. A new proposal announced at the start of the third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice would see an additional 30,000km2 protected, with the ban extended to 41 MPAs. Size wise, that's roughly half of English MPAs. 'Bottom trawling is damaging our precious marine wildlife and habitats. Without urgent action, our oceans will be irreversibly destroyed - depriving us, and generations to come, of the sea life on which we all enjoy,' Environment Secretary Steve Reed said in a statement this morning. 'The government is taking decisive action to ban destructive bottom trawling where appropriate.' Its first step is a consultation, launching today (9 June) until 1 September, which will invite marine and fisheries stakeholders to share their views and give evidence about the proposed ban. If adopted, the measures would protect marine habitats ranging from subtidal sandbanks to gravels to muds, and support important marine species such as lobster, clams, soft corals and langoustines, the government says. 'Destructive bottom trawling has no place in marine protected areas. These proposals provide a golden opportunity to safeguard these vital marine sanctuaries from the most damaging fishing practices,' says Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director of the ocean advocacy group Oceana UK. 'If these whole-site bans are fully implemented, this could provide an invaluable and urgently needed lifeline for England's seas, which are so crucial for wildlife and climate resilience.' Joan Edwards, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, also emphasises that properly protecting MPAs is 'a win-win for both nature and the climate.' 'Removing this pressure is a great step forward towards protecting not only the wildlife and fish stocks within those sites, but also the carbon stored in the seabed muds beneath,' she says. Still, conservationists are anxious to ensure promising words are backed by action, even after the spotlight of UNOC3 has dimmed. 'The government should now strengthen the ban to cover all parts of our marine protected areas, and other types of destructive industrial fishing like supertrawlers and fly-shooters. Only this will ensure our marine ecosystems are protected in reality - not only on paper,' comments Ariana Densham, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK. Clare Brook, CEO of Blue Marine Foundation, calls the announcement 'highly encouraging and very welcome. If delivered (and remember this is a consultation) it will mean that England's offshore MPAs are at last given the protection they claim.' The ocean conservation charity is making waves with the release of its satirical short film featuring Stephen Fry and White Lotus star Theo James. The Bottom Line takes place in a fine dining restaurant, where James's character is presented with the gruesome bycatch behind his 'sustainable' hake order. 'As a keen diver, I've long been captivated by the ocean and been horrified by the impact humans are having on it. Having had a load of bycatch dumped on me, it really drove home just how grotesque and devastating the practice of bottom trawling is,' said James, who is an ambassador for the charity alongside Fry. "Conservation policy is awash with shiny new announcements and impressive sounding targets whereas what is needed is actual delivery,' Jonny Hughes, Senior Policy Manager at Blue Marine Foundation, said of today's news. 'This, at first glance, seems to be about delivering conservation. We need to see the full details but initial reading is positive." France's stance on bottom trawling is also under review. The co-host of UNOC has announced strict protection measures for 4 per cent of its mainland waters (15,000 square kilometres), banning harmful human activities including bottom trawling. But the announcement falls short of implementing a comprehensive ban on bottom trawling across all MPAs, environmental lawyers note. 'This is an important turning point,' ClientEarth CEO Laura Clarke said of the UK and French updates. 'We welcome these pledges at UNOC - and we would like to see more of them. We also need to see these bans effectively enforced.' Last year, Greece became the first European country to announce a ban on bottom trawling in its protected areas, starting with its three national marine parks by 2026. Sweden has gone a step further by promising to ban the damaging practice in all its territorial waters as of next month. The EU's 2023 Marie Action Plan calls on member states to phase out bottom trawling in all MPAs by 2030. But recent research from NGOs Oceana, Seas At Risk and ClientEarth revealed that no EU country currently has a comprehensive plan in place to phase out destructive fishing practices in these protected areas. As momentum builds, environmental organisations are pressuring all European countries to follow suit. ClientEarth, Oceana, Danish NGO Danmarks Naturfredningsforening and the Seas at Risk coalition last week threatened legal action against Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain for allowing widespread bottom trawling in its MPAs.
