Komeito’s Akino takes part in study group on nuclear disarmament initiative

November 6 , 2024

On November 5, Kozo Akino, Komeito member of the House of Councillors, attended a meeting of the Study Group on New Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament Initiatives organized by the private, nonprofit Sasakawa Peace Foundation. A guest speaker, Akino reported on a joint South Korea-Japan parliamentary discussion in which he took part that discussed North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and the stance that Seoul and Tokyo should take in dealing with the challenge.

Akino said in exchanging views with his South Korean counterparts, the discussion turned to ways to avoid developing nuclear arms in response to the nuclear threat posed by Pyongyang. He shared that South Korean legislators are seeking to engage North Korea in dialogue and are prepared to propose initiatives to ensure the peninsula’s denuclearization.

Furthermore, Akino said any multilateral discussion on nuclear disarmament without including Japan, as the only country in the world to survive a nuclear bombing, would lack credibility and not serve in enhancing international deterrence. Among the specific measures the Japanese government should employ, Akino recommends, is to invite young people and leaders from abroad to Hiroshima and Nagasaki so that they may learn from the horrific experiences of the hibakusha, the people who survived the attacks. The goal, said Akino, is to teach and expand this basic understanding—that as long as nuclear arms exist, a nuclear war can, in fact, occur—with as many people as possible.

While Study Group members cited Komeito for its nuclear disarmament activities in the Diet, they urged the party to enlist the cooperation of other political parties in the effort. They also suggested that the Japanese government organize and host international conferences on denuclearization.

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