NPT Conference Approaching: Japanese Ruling and Opposition Parties Urge Foreign Minister to Attend
With the NPT Review Conference set for April 27 in NY, Japan's Takaichi administration is planning to send a deputy minister. However, lawmakers are urging Foreign Minister Motegi to attend to demonstrate Japan's commitment to nuclear disarmament amid a deteriorating global security environment.
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- 📰 Published: April 19, 2026 at 19:09
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Central News Agency
(CNA, Tokyo, 19th) The Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will be held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 27th of this month. The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is coordinating to send the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, but both ruling and opposition parties are calling for the higher-ranking Minister for Foreign Affairs to attend.
Kyodo News reports that the level of the official chosen by the Japanese government reflects the administration's stance on nuclear disarmament at the time. Previously, Japan has had sitting Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers attend the NPT Review Conference.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the NPT Review Conference is held in principle every five years. In 1995, the administration of then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama began sending officials at the political level. When the conference faced the critical phase of deciding whether to extend the treaty indefinitely, it was attended by then-Foreign Minister Yohei Kono.
A recent example is 2015, attended by then-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida's hometown and constituency are in Hiroshima Prefecture, which suffered an atomic bombing. After becoming Prime Minister in 2022, he became the first Japanese PM to attend the NPT Review Conference in person, intending to showcase Japan's leadership in nuclear disarmament.
Kyodo News pointed out that the prospects for adopting a final document at this review conference are grim. Kuniko Inoguchi, chair of Japan's cross-party Parliamentary League for the Promotion of International Disarmament, requested the Foreign Ministry on the 13th to send current Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Inoguchi belongs to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The previous administration of Shigeru Ishiba, Takaichi's predecessor, sent then-Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to deliver a speech at the preparatory committee for NPT-related meetings last year.
A mid-ranking opposition party member noted, "If we only send a deputy minister, it will be hard to maintain consistency."
Jiji Press reported that Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Do Hung Viet, who will chair this conference, emphasized in an interview on the 17th that "it is necessary to consolidate the views of all state parties, adopt some kind of outcome document, and reaffirm the willingness to actively participate in the NPT."
The last two NPT review conferences ended in collapsed negotiations without adopting an outcome document. Ambassador Do expressed concern that another failure to reach an agreement would "severely damage the credibility of the NPT regime and endanger the collective security of the international community," warning that this would weaken the NPT system and increase the risk of nuclear proliferation.
The report notes the environment surrounding the NPT regime continues to deteriorate. At the last conference in 2022, Russia opposed descriptions of its invasion of Ukraine, preventing the adoption of a joint statement. The Russia-Ukraine war is still ongoing, and the New START treaty—the only remaining nuclear arms reduction framework between the US and Russia—expired this February. Iran, which has been attacked by the US and Israel, has hinted at possibly withdrawing from the NPT.
Ambassador Do bluntly stated that this conference will convene under "the most difficult circumstances to date." However, he also added, "Precisely because of this, it is an opportunity to rebuild trust and promote constructive dialogue." (Translated by: Yang Wei-ching)
(CNA, Tokyo, 19th) The Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will be held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 27th of this month. The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is coordinating to send the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, but both ruling and opposition parties are calling for the higher-ranking Minister for Foreign Affairs to attend.
Kyodo News reports that the level of the official chosen by the Japanese government reflects the administration's stance on nuclear disarmament at the time. Previously, Japan has had sitting Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers attend the NPT Review Conference.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the NPT Review Conference is held in principle every five years. In 1995, the administration of then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama began sending officials at the political level. When the conference faced the critical phase of deciding whether to extend the treaty indefinitely, it was attended by then-Foreign Minister Yohei Kono.
A recent example is 2015, attended by then-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida's hometown and constituency are in Hiroshima Prefecture, which suffered an atomic bombing. After becoming Prime Minister in 2022, he became the first Japanese PM to attend the NPT Review Conference in person, intending to showcase Japan's leadership in nuclear disarmament.
Kyodo News pointed out that the prospects for adopting a final document at this review conference are grim. Kuniko Inoguchi, chair of Japan's cross-party Parliamentary League for the Promotion of International Disarmament, requested the Foreign Ministry on the 13th to send current Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Inoguchi belongs to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The previous administration of Shigeru Ishiba, Takaichi's predecessor, sent then-Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to deliver a speech at the preparatory committee for NPT-related meetings last year.
A mid-ranking opposition party member noted, "If we only send a deputy minister, it will be hard to maintain consistency."
Jiji Press reported that Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Do Hung Viet, who will chair this conference, emphasized in an interview on the 17th that "it is necessary to consolidate the views of all state parties, adopt some kind of outcome document, and reaffirm the willingness to actively participate in the NPT."
The last two NPT review conferences ended in collapsed negotiations without adopting an outcome document. Ambassador Do expressed concern that another failure to reach an agreement would "severely damage the credibility of the NPT regime and endanger the collective security of the international community," warning that this would weaken the NPT system and increase the risk of nuclear proliferation.
The report notes the environment surrounding the NPT regime continues to deteriorate. At the last conference in 2022, Russia opposed descriptions of its invasion of Ukraine, preventing the adoption of a joint statement. The Russia-Ukraine war is still ongoing, and the New START treaty—the only remaining nuclear arms reduction framework between the US and Russia—expired this February. Iran, which has been attacked by the US and Israel, has hinted at possibly withdrawing from the NPT.
Ambassador Do bluntly stated that this conference will convene under "the most difficult circumstances to date." However, he also added, "Precisely because of this, it is an opportunity to rebuild trust and promote constructive dialogue." (Translated by: Yang Wei-ching)