Statement by the Japanese Delegation at the Twenty-Fifth Session of the Joint Meeting of Working Groups A and B of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO

Thank you, Mr Chairman,

I would like to thank the Executive Secretary, Dr Zerbo, for his opening remarks.

[Promotion of Entry into Force of the Treaty]

Mr Chairman,

This year and specifically this month mark the 70th year since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the CTBT is one of the most important and practical measures of disarmament and non-proliferation, promotion of its entry into force, without further delay, is all the more important. In this light, we are encouraged by the fact that a constructive message on the CTBT was included in the draft final document at the 2015 NPT Review Conference. We highly welcome Angola’s recent ratification of the Treaty, increasing the number of ratifying states to 164.

It is my great pleasure to report to you that Japan hosted the landmark Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) meeting in Hiroshima on 24 and 25 August, which was followed by the joint high level session attended by both GEM members and participants of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues on 26 August. The GEM meeting discussed the GEM’s focused efforts to achieve the CTBT’s entry into force and issued the Hiroshima Declaration.

The Article XIV conference will be held in New York on 29 September this year. As a designated Co-President of the conference, Japan has the honour to exercise this role together with Kazakhstan, and would like to strongly encourage ministerial level attendance at the conference from all the member States of the United Nations. We would further like to solicit the cooperation of all the States Signatories in reaching consensus on the final declaration of this conference at the upcoming informal consultations. Japan will cooperate closely with Kazakhstan to continue our concrete activities to promote the entry into force and universalization of the Treaty down the road.

Next year will be the 20th year since the CTBT opened for signature. This will be an important opportunity to enhance the momentum for its entry into force. Our delegation would like to emphasize the importance of the following four points in preparation for entry into force of the Treaty: strengthening the verification regime, promoting the maturity of the organization, enhancing public awareness and support, as well as raising political support for entry into force.

[Introduction of a Biennial Budget Mechanism and a Multiyear Funding Modality]

Mr Chairman,

Let me take this opportunity to restate that Japan welcomes the introduction of a biennial budget mechanism.

Like many other countries, the Government of Japan is currently faced with a severe budgetary situation. We therefore appreciate the efforts of the PTS to prioritize its programmes and plan saving and would like to reiterate our request to the PTS to consider and explore the possibility of achieving further efficiencies in the Budget for 2016-2017. In this context, we appreciate Ambassador Azeez’s leadership in convening informal consultations on budgetary issues.

I would also like to express our support for the introduction of the multiyear funding modality consisting of four funds to be appropriated from the 2016-2017 Budget.

[Conclusion]

To conclude, we sincerely hope that, during this joint meeting, valuable discussions will be held with the prospect of contributing towards achieving our common goals of early entry into force of the Treaty and the establishment of the verification regime.

I thank you, Mr Chairman.