CTBTO準備委員会第70会期作業部会Aステートメント（海部篤大使）（英語ページへのリンク）
令和8年10月19日
Chair,
Let me begin with a hard reality that we face. Resources are not unlimited. Japan applies strict budgetary principle to its contributions to all the international organizations. This makes discipline, prioritization, and results in all of them all the more important. Within this framework Japan wishes to preserve the verification regime and get the greatest possible value from what we have built.
These constraints do not diminish the importance of the IMS. Japan sees the IMS as an indispensable strategic infrastructure for international security. We must maintain the verification regime and actively step up our efforts to strengthen its detection capabilities.
Chair,
Enhancing this regime also requires greater transparency. Voluntary transparency measures, including the sharing of relevant national seismic data where possible, can contribute to confidence in the CTBT’s verification architecture. Pending the entry into force of the Treaty, we must sustain the verification regime and reinforce the moratorium. Ensuring stable financial foundation for the CTBT’s operation is our shared responsibility. Particularly in the ongoing chronic crisis, Japan calls upon all States Signatories to disburse their assessed contributions promptly and in full.
Chair,
Let me address another challenge we face. Japan expresses serious concerns over North Korea's continued nuclear and missile development. North Korea’s nuclear issue is not merely a regional concern but a global challenge that strikes at the very core of the CTBT’s purpose and verification mandate. We must continue to take up this issue at this Working Group. We urge North Korea not to conduct any further destabilizing or provocative actions, including a nuclear test, and to comply with its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to return to full compliance with the NPT and to sign and ratify the CTBT at the earliest possible date.
Chair,
Preserving the CTBT is not enough. We must also help move it forward. Japan welcomes Tonga's ratification of the CTBT and appreciates Executive Secretary Dr. Floyd’s tireless efforts. Building on this momentum, Japan and Australia co-hosted the Twelfth Ministerial Meeting of the Friends of the CTBT during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week last month. The Joint Ministerial Statement sent a clear message: entry into force will halt nuclear proliferation and development and open the path to a world free of nuclear weapons. Japan thanks all participants and endorsers, and kindly asks those who have not yet done so to join us promptly.
Chair,
I have spoken today about what it takes to maintain something vital when the world around us is changing and resources are limited. That is also what brings me to my final point. Japan sincerely appreciates Ambassador Bernas for her dedicated leadership over these past three years. Amid rising geopolitical tensions and difficult discussions on the IMS Sustainment Strategy, her steady hand keeps this Working Group moving forward and navigates our focus on what matters most.
Thirty years have passed since the CTBT was opened for signature. We cannot afford the next milestone to become yet another “anniversary of waiting.”
The time has come to move.
Thank you.
Let me begin with a hard reality that we face. Resources are not unlimited. Japan applies strict budgetary principle to its contributions to all the international organizations. This makes discipline, prioritization, and results in all of them all the more important. Within this framework Japan wishes to preserve the verification regime and get the greatest possible value from what we have built.
These constraints do not diminish the importance of the IMS. Japan sees the IMS as an indispensable strategic infrastructure for international security. We must maintain the verification regime and actively step up our efforts to strengthen its detection capabilities.
Chair,
Enhancing this regime also requires greater transparency. Voluntary transparency measures, including the sharing of relevant national seismic data where possible, can contribute to confidence in the CTBT’s verification architecture. Pending the entry into force of the Treaty, we must sustain the verification regime and reinforce the moratorium. Ensuring stable financial foundation for the CTBT’s operation is our shared responsibility. Particularly in the ongoing chronic crisis, Japan calls upon all States Signatories to disburse their assessed contributions promptly and in full.
Chair,
Let me address another challenge we face. Japan expresses serious concerns over North Korea's continued nuclear and missile development. North Korea’s nuclear issue is not merely a regional concern but a global challenge that strikes at the very core of the CTBT’s purpose and verification mandate. We must continue to take up this issue at this Working Group. We urge North Korea not to conduct any further destabilizing or provocative actions, including a nuclear test, and to comply with its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to return to full compliance with the NPT and to sign and ratify the CTBT at the earliest possible date.
Chair,
Preserving the CTBT is not enough. We must also help move it forward. Japan welcomes Tonga's ratification of the CTBT and appreciates Executive Secretary Dr. Floyd’s tireless efforts. Building on this momentum, Japan and Australia co-hosted the Twelfth Ministerial Meeting of the Friends of the CTBT during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week last month. The Joint Ministerial Statement sent a clear message: entry into force will halt nuclear proliferation and development and open the path to a world free of nuclear weapons. Japan thanks all participants and endorsers, and kindly asks those who have not yet done so to join us promptly.
Chair,
I have spoken today about what it takes to maintain something vital when the world around us is changing and resources are limited. That is also what brings me to my final point. Japan sincerely appreciates Ambassador Bernas for her dedicated leadership over these past three years. Amid rising geopolitical tensions and difficult discussions on the IMS Sustainment Strategy, her steady hand keeps this Working Group moving forward and navigates our focus on what matters most.
Thirty years have passed since the CTBT was opened for signature. We cannot afford the next milestone to become yet another “anniversary of waiting.”
The time has come to move.
Thank you.