Tokyo: Japan has expressed its reluctance
to accept a proposal that urges the US to limit the role of
nuclear weapons to deterring only nuclear attacks and that
seeks a no first-strike commitment in a draft report compiled
by an international panel on nuclear non-proliferation and
disarmament, panel sources said on Sunday.
Japan's representative to the International Commission
on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament expressed
reservations about the proposal due to concerns over a
weakening of the US nuclear umbrella, the sources said.
The commission, established at the initiative of
Australia and Japan, aims to reinvigorate international
efforts on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. It is
co-chaired by former Japanese and Australian foreign
ministers -- Yoriko Kawaguchi and Gareth Evans.
The draft document envisages US President Barack Obama
working out a new nuclear doctrine before the review
conference of parties to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty
which is scheduled to be held next May.
It says that the "sole purpose of US nuclear weapons
is to deter use of nuclear weapons against the United States
and its allies."
Japan has agreed to the principle of reducing the role
of nuclear weapons but has expressed reservations not just
about the specific proposal but also the suggested timetable
and sequence or weapons reduction, the sources said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, September 13, 2009, 19:52