The letter (attached), which was also delivered by a delegation of Japanese legislators to the US ambassador to Japan John V. Roos, supports the US objective to achieve a world without nuclear weapons as outlined in Obama’s April 2009 Prague speech, encourages the US and Russia to conclude negotiations on stockpile reductions, and calls on the US to adopt as a first step a ’sole purpose’ policy, i.e. that U.S. nuclear weapons would only be for deterrence against the threat or use of nuclear weapons from other nuclear-armed States. This would include assurances that nuclear weapons would not be threatened or used against non-nuclear States. The letter also asserts that Japan will not seek the road toward possession of nuclear weapons if the U.S. adopts such a policy.

Endorsers of the letter include leading members of all political parties such as Yoriko Kawaguchi (LDP – Co-chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament and a former Foreign Minister), Taro Kono (LDP – Former Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee), Senator Tadashi Inuzuka (DPJ from Nagasaki), Mizuho Fukushima (SDP) and Masao Akamatsu (Komei-to).

On February 9, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama commented favourably in the Diet (Japanese Parliament) on Hiraoka’s initiative, indicating that it was in accordance with his government’s commitment to maintaining the Japanese three non-nuclear principles and his support for nuclear disarmament.

In addition, Hiraoka’s initiative reinforces some of the key ideas in a letter sent by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada (also a PNND member) to Hillary Clinton in December 2009. In the letter (attached below) Okada reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-US Security Treaty which includes extended nuclear deterrence, but distanced himself from aspects of the previous Japanese administration’s nuclear policy.

In particular, Okada expressed concerns that Japanese officials may have lobbied the US not to reduce its nuclear arsenal – a position which “would clearly be at variance with my views, which are in favor of nuclear disarmament” (unofficial English translation) . Okada’s letter also supported the idea that the role of nuclear weapons be restricted to deterrence of the use of nuclear weapons, and that the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon state members of the NPT be banned.

The Atlanta Consultation III

The purpose of the Atlanta Consultation III was to find consensus on the agenda priorities for the upcoming review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York City in May 2010.

President Jimmy Carter was a keynote speaker. Other notable addresses were presented by the Honorable Greta Evans (Australia), Ambassador Libran Cabactulan (Philippines) the 2010 NPT Review Conference President, and the Honorable Sergio Duarte, Chairman of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. All urged an NPT action plan that is “doable and aggressive” and one that will lead to the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Global Security Institute organized and ran the consultations, as it did in 2000 and 2005, but this year consultation was markedly different in its optimism for new advances and consensus amongst the global community lead by the United States on the need to cut nuclear weapon stockpiles worldwide and strengthen nuclear nonproliferation.

The Fund for Peace Initiatives was invited to participate in the consultation as a guest non-governmental organization, and was represented by Mr. Les DeWitt.

For more information please contact mpi-ny@gsinstitute.org or visit http://www.gsinstitute.org/

GSI President Jonathan Granoff delivers his presentation
before Grateful Dead Lead Singer, Bob Weir took the stage.

Jonathan Granoff and former Prime Minister Kim Campbell	Kim Campbell, Les DeWitt, Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr.
Lily Haydn	Bob Weir, Former Lead Singer of The Grateful Dead
Mark and Lisa Moulton	Jonathan Granoff and Friends

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