3rd anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi says, “The path to a world without nuclear weapons has not been established.”

At a morning press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi was asked whether Japan had any plans to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which will be in force for three years on the 22nd. Not a single nuclear-weapon state is participating, and the current situation is that there is still no path to an exit."

He added, ``As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings in war, Japan must make efforts to involve nuclear-weapon states.'' "I would like to continue and strengthen realistic and practical efforts under the United States," he said, expressing his intention to achieve nuclear abolition by maintaining and strengthening the NPT regime.

Japan Hidankyo releases statement sent to Cabinet Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs

As the 22nd marks three years since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect, Japan Hidankyo (Japan Council of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims' Organizations) said, ``We hope that the number of signatories to the Treaty will continue to increase and that serious discussions will take place. Above all, we strongly urge the Japanese government to join the treaty.A-bomb survivors, together with our supporters, must continue to appeal to the Japanese government, to the world, and to the rest of the world, about what kind of world the existence and use of nuclear weapons will bring about, and its tragic consequences. We will continue to do so.''

The statement was sent to the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.