NUCLEAR WEAPONS BAN TALKS: With Japan at the Table (Hopefully)

Ground Zero, Hiroshima --  . . . photo taken during
World Nuclear Victims Forum -- November, 2015

Ever since the vote last October on holding nuclear weapons ban negotiations, I have been particularly puzzled by Japan's vote against the resolution. I posed a general question -- who would possibly vote "NO" to banning nuclear weapons? -- and this question applied to no country more than it did to Japan.

I realize now that a "no" vote on resolution L.41 doesn't preclude participating in the negotiations themselves. And the more I think about it, the more it makes perfect sense that Japan would vote "no" on the resolution, but will likely participate in the negotiations.

The country's failure to show up for the preparatory meeting for the nuclear
weapons ban negotiations raised eyebrows in Japan. (Source: FNN)

The US pressured its allies to vote "no" and boycott the negotiations. By voting "no" on the resolution, Japan respected the request of the US (without changing the outcome of the vote).

Japan has a unique position in the world vis-a-vis nuclear weapons. As I think about it, it feels very likely that the leaders of Japan would feel an obligation -- bound by honor, in fact -- to be present at the table.

When I looked closely at the statement by Japan following the vote, I saw several things that were consistent with this view.  The statement begins by asserting: "as the only country to have ever suffered atomic bombings, Japan has been devoted tireless efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons."

Second, it identified a fairly narrow rationale for its "no" vote: Japan "repeatedly pressed to have consensus-based decision making in the resolution, however it is regrettable that our basic position has not been reflected."

Third, it gave a nod to the US position: "we are concerned about the fact that this recommendation of the disarmament community would undermine the progress of effective nuclear disarmament."

Account (with illustration) by
survivor of Hiroshima bombing

Taken together, these elements -- Japan's unique position, its preference for consensus, its concern about undermining other efforts -- seem to me to point toward eventual participation in the negotiations themselves. The first issue is paramount. The second is not a deal-breaker. The third leaves maximum wiggle room -- especially as the failure of the nuclear weapons states to honor their NPT Article VI obligations is more and more openly talked about. ("Effective nuclear disarmament" is a coded phrase that has, in fact, become eviscerated.)

The statement by the Japan's foreign minister is suggestive: "Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida suggested willingness to participate, saying Japan should assert its stance towards 'a world without nuclear weapons.' But he said the decision will be made by the government." ("Japan remains cautious on UN nuclear ban talks")

See also: "136 Japanese legislators join global nuclear disarmament statement" and "EDITORIAL: Progress toward a nuclear-free world must keep moving forward."

Meanwhile, an important moment is coming up Saturday: the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The intensifying pressure on the government of Japan over its handling of nuclear issues can be expected to contribute to a feeling that Japan must be at the table for the UN nuclear weapons ban negotiations.

China has said it will participate in the talks. It would be difficult for Japan to justify allowing talks to go forward with China at the table while Japan, itself, sat on the sidelines.

In the last few days, there have been new flareups over North Korean missile tests. It's important to remember that this is part of an ongoing conflict involving the US, South Korea, and North Korea. Japan surely wants the problem to be resolved. That simply adds motivation for Japan to be at the table for the nuclear weapons ban negotiations (negotiations which North Korea voted in favor of, it should be remembered).

February, 2016 at Mar a Lago: Prime Minister Abe
experiences diplomacy, Donald Trump style

A wildcard in all this is what Prime Minister Abe thinks about Donald Trump. My best guess is that Abe (and his colleagues) are not reassured by the Trump record to date. This is a reason for Japan to explore every possible option to reach solutions jointly with all available counterparts.

Assuming Japan does participate in the negotiations, it has consequences for other countries who did not support the original resolution. How will it be possible for a country like Canada, or Germany, or France to refuse to participate if Japan is at the table? If Canada participates, it suddenly makes Australia's refusal to participate that much more conspicuous. If Germany participates . . . . And on and on . . . .

The nuclear weapons ban negotiations at the UN will be greatly enhanced by Japan's participation. I hope I'm right in believing Japan will be at the table.


UPDATE March 15, 2017: "Austrian foreign minister calls on Japan to join nuclear ban negotiations" - "Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has expressed hope that Japan will join negotiations later this month on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons. . . . 'Japan, as the world’s sole atomic-bombed nation, has a moral voice and can give an invaluable opinion on the issue of nuclear disarmament,' Kurz said in a written interview ahead of the first round of negotiations that begin March 27 in New York."

MORE:

Who would possibly vote "NO" to banning nuclear weapons???


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Encounter in Nagasaki

Two days ago I visited the atomic bomb memorials in Nagasaki; yesterday I walked around the city, thinking about what I had seen.

I ended up in the late afternoon at the Glover Garden, which provide a panoramic view of the city and the harbor. Jet lag was starting to set in, and I plopped down on a bench under an arbor to drink a bottle of cold green tea from one of the ubiquitous drink vending machines.

Some little boys -- part of a school group -- were enjoying looking over the low hedge and shouting into the distance. From their sheepish glances over their shoulders, they seemed to know they were on the verge of violating some kind of behavior norm.

Then they caught site of me, and started to say, "Hello!" I wasn't really in the mood to talk, partly because I was tired, and partly because any gang of a dozen little kids can make you tired, but, I think, mainly because talking reminded me of my utter failure to do the work I had intended to do before this trip to recapture some of the Japanese language that I had learned 30 years ago. I nodded politely and hoped that they would go back to their group leader.

Then one little girl started to talk to me. "Where are you from?" she asked. And while she said this she looked at her classmates and gestured for them to back away, as much as to say, "Give me some space here or the subject is going to flee the interview."

"U.S." I said.

"Oh ... " she nodded. And I began to wonder, what can a child in Nagasaki think when they see a person from the US?

"When you come to Japan?" she asked. (More shooing of curious classmates.)

"Yesterday," I said.

"Oh! ... What time yesterday?"

"7:00 o'clock." Much discussion. One little boy couldn't resist holding up seven fingers and asking in amazement, "Shichi-ji?" Much discussion followed about how many hours it takes to get to Japan from the US, what the time difference is. Then our interpreter shushed them again.

"When you come to Nagasaki?" she asked.

"Yesterday," I said.

"Oh! ... What time yesterday?"

"9:30." More discussion.

"Where else you go? In Japan?"

"Hiroshima," I said.

"Hiroshima? Oh . . ." she said.

We were getting to the heart of the matter.

"Ashita . . . Hiroshima ni ikimasu . . . " A tiny bit of Japanese started to resurface in my memory.

"Why you come to Nagasaki?" she asked.

Paper cranes left at atomic bomb sites by school groups.

"To see the atom bomb museum," I said. And again I wondered, what can a child in Nagasaki think when they see a person from the US who has come here to see the atom bomb museum?

"We also went. To atom bomb museum," she said.

"Are you from Nagasaki?" I asked.

"No, from .... " and she named another city, also on the island of Kyushu. I realized that it was

"What did you think of it? The atom bomb museum?" I asked.

She thought for a bit, her head cocked to one side and eyes turned upward. Then, "There is a lot of history," she said.

I nodded. "It makes me very sad," I said.

Suddenly, their eyes turned to look behind me. Someone was calling.

"Now we go to our hotel," she said. "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" I said. And one phrase jumped to my mind.

"Yoku benkyo shimasyoo ne!"

I had meant to give a stock Japanese phrase -- an admonition from a typical grownup to typical children: "Study well!"

But the verb conjugation didn't come out the way I intended.

What came out was, I think, even better.

"Let's study well!"


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Nagasaki: Impressions

Notes on a visit to Nagasaki, viewing reminders of the atomic bombing of Japan by the US. Why we need a global ban on nuclear weapons . . . .

I am in Nagasaki prior to going to Hiroshima for the World Nuclear Victims Forum.

Yesterday I visited the sites related to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9,1945.

These are some simple impressions of a first-time visitor.

I wasn't prepared for the number of groups of schoolchildren visiting these sites. It gave me hope to see them.

Peace Park in Nagasaki. (Note the school group assembled before the statue.)

One group of schoolchildren -- about 8 to 10 years old, I think -- was performing a ceremony before the main statue in the Peace Park. Each child spoke some words, then a few carried up multiple strands of paper cranes to add to those already hanging there, and then one student came up and led the rest in singing a song.

The next day I had an opportunity to speak with some of these visiting schoolchildren.

Being at the hypocenter of the bomb took my breath away. You enter a separate park with a wide plaza in the center. Where is the hypocenter? And then you see the edge of a series of concentric rings out of the corner of your eye.

Down a set of steps, an exhibit behind glass shows the actual ground level at the time of the bombing, filled with deformed debris. I thought it was appropriate that the glass made it impossible to get a picture without also capturing my own reflection.

Debris at ground level of the Nagasaki hypocenter.

On a wall alongside the eternal flame, a series of tiles were provided by peace advocates from around the world -- young and old. 

Peace tile, Nagasaki.

I was particularly struck by one that showed the faces of the contributors. It reminded me of a graphic I saw a few months ago about the campaign in Japan to prevent re-militarization.

People Power Against War in Japan: A Lesson for Us All?

Just outside the atomic bomb museum, there is a monument to the mothers and children killed by the bomb.

Detail, monument to mothers and children killed by the atomic bomb, Nagasaki.

It reminds me of Munch's "Scream." I felt that if there was just one image to sum up my visit here, it would be this one.

 

The 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.

The actual Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Pugwash Conferences in 1995 is on display in the museum. (As someone who was once involved in revoking a Nobel Peace Prize, I found it notable.)

The most moving part of the visit was the memorial to the victims: Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims. I didn't take photographs there, but here is one I found on the web:

Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

 

Finally, these two pictures -- Nagasaki before and after the bomb -- summed it all up for me:

Nagasaki - before (above) and after (below)
11:02 a.m., August 9, 1945.

Why are we waiting to eliminate nuclear weapons?


MORE: Please see also Encounter in Nagasaki . . . and . . . FIRE AND BLAST: A Curriculum that Confronts Nuclear Danger? . . .


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