SPEAKING
FREELY Japan's nuclear
cop-out By Masako Toki
Historically significant incidents
sometimes do not receive the media coverage they
deserve. The long-awaited signing of the Central
Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone treaty last Friday
was one such case.
With the fifth
anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks on the US dominating media coverage, the
establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in one
of the most strategically
important regions in the
world in terms of counter-terrorism measures was
treated as minor news. Instead of eliciting
congratulatory remarks from the international
community, the signing ceremony at Semipalatinsk
nuclear test site in Kazakhstan was largely
ignored, largely because of a lack of support from
the United States and its allies.
However,
one country that should have issued a warmer
congratulatory statement was Japan, given its
increasing efforts to strengthen cooperation with
countries in Central Asia and, moreover, its
long-standing commitment to ridding the world of
nuclear weapons.
While Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi's trip to Kazakhstan
and Uzbekistan at the end of August was treated as
relatively minor news, his visit - the first by a
Japanese prime minister to the region - was a
significant step toward establishing stronger ties
between Japan and Central Asia.
As a
country that has continuously supported the
establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free zone in
Central Asia and made significant financial
contributions, more overt congratulatory remarks
from the Japanese government on this important
development would have been in order.
Japan's muted response does not
necessarily mean its support for the
nuclear-weapons-free zone in the region is
weakening. However, it is apparent that Japan's
support has become less overtly enthusiastic
because of its pro-American security stance and US
opposition to the treaty text establishing the
zone. One could say that Japan's efforts to make
the world nuclear-weapons-free have become more
"realistic".
Koizumi's visit to Kazakhstan
and Uzbekistan, with one month left in his tenure
as prime minister, highlighted Japan's strong
commitment to the region. Koizumi held meetings
with President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and
President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan.
Prior to his visit, on June 5, the
Japanese and Central Asian governments issued the
Action Plan on Central Asian plus Japan.
The action plan itself is quite
praiseworthy, emphasizing the importance of
democratization, the promotion of the market
economy, the eradication of terrorism and poverty,
and the protection of human rights, and Japan has
made clear its intention to continue to support
it.
Japan and the Central Asian countries
are enhancing their cooperation in numerous
spheres. In fact, when Koizumi visited Kazakhstan,
both countries agreed to further cooperation in
the field of nuclear energy.
However,
Japan's commitment to the nuclear-weapons-free
zone seems to be somewhat diminished. Although
Japan has continuously supported the efforts,
including contributing US$420,000 to the United
Nations Secretariat to facilitate the drafting of
the treaty, and hosting conferences in Sapporo,
Japan, in 1999 and 2000, US opposition to the
treaty text has led to Japanese support for the
zone becoming less vocal.
The Japanese
government rhetoric in support of the zone has
been repeated at a variety of international
forums. At the past nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) review conferences, the government
always included language supporting the efforts to
establish such a zone. At the 2000 NPT review
conference, the Japanese delegation stated: "Japan
vigorously supports their [Central Asian
countries'] political will and has been making
concrete contributions to their negotiating
efforts by inviting them to meet in Japan to hold
negotiations." But can this "vigorous support" be
seen in the current Japanese government?
One disturbing sentence from recent
documents regarding Japan's support of the zone
is: "Japan supports [it] on condition that there
is an agreement by all the countries concerned."
"All the countries concerned" of course
includes the United States. The United Nations
guidelines for establishing a nuclear-weapons-free
zone state that all the relevant countries,
including nuclear-weapons states, should be
consulted in the negotiation process. And it
happened in the process of establishing such a
zone in Central Asia. At the same time, the
guidelines say that if the states of a given
region agree to establish a nuclear-weapons-free
zone, the international community should support
efforts toward that goal.
Does Japan's
loss of enthusiasm for achieving a
nuclear-weapons-free zone reflect its recent
tendency to toe the US line? This may be a small
aspect of Japan's policy on nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament, but it also may
indicate a weakening of Japan's support for a
nuclear-weapons-free world. If Japan cannot fully
support the establishment of nuclear-weapons-free
zones, how can it say it is a leader in the area
of nuclear disarmament?
There is
widespread agreement that nuclear-weapons-free
zones have helped prevent the proliferation of
nuclear weapons and created procedural norms for
nuclear disarmament. The 2000 NPT review
conference reaffirmed that the establishment of
internationally recognized nuclear-weapons-free
zones on the basis of arrangements freely arrived
at among the states of the region concerned
enhances regional and global peace and security.
Although this process is slow and gradual,
the establishment of such zones contributes to a
more peaceful and secure world.
Nuclear-weapons-free zones continue to be
important tools for strengthening the
international non-proliferation and disarmament
regime.
Japan has a unique mission to
achieve this goal because of its past. However, if
it succumbs to US pressure not to support the
Central Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, it will be
deeply shameful conduct. Japan should show
"vigorous support" for the zone.
Masako Toki is research
associate at the Center for Non-proliferation
Studies of the Monterey Institute of International
Studies in California.
(Copyright 2006
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