[ICAN] Your support for Japan's commitment to nuclear disarmament will be appreciated
Ellen Thomas
As you may have seen, Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, won a landslide victory last week in the snap election of the Lower House she called to capitalise on her high approval ratings. The win is the biggest in the history of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and gives her considerable personal power to shape policy.
The implications of this for Japan’s nuclear weapons policies are deeply concerning.
After PM Takaichi came to power last year, the LDP is reportedly preparing for a review of Japan’s Three Non-nuclear Principles of not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons, in line with Japan's Peace Constitution. PM Takaichi has not ruled it out.
This move produced strong push back from civil society.
We submitted 3.5 million signatures for a petition calling on the government to fully embrace a future without nuclear weapons and to join the TPNW.
Along with Hibakusha and supporters from across the country we organised large rallies in Tokyo and Hiroshima calling on the government to enshrine the Three Non-nuclear Principles into law and join the TPNW.
A new cross-party study group on nuclear disarmament was formed.
We are pushing the government to reaffirm its commitment to nuclear disarmament at every occasion, including, most recently, the 5th anniversary of the TPNW entry into force and the expiration of the New START.
Here in Japan, we will be reminding the Prime
Minister that in spite of her election victory, the
vast majority of Japanese people remain opposed to
nuclear weapons so she should not use her election
win to water down the non-nuclear principles.
Instead, she should reaffirm those principles and
work to join the TPNW. In fact, recent pollings have
shown that a vast majority of the Japanese people
and even a majority of newly-elected Lower House
members are supportive of keeping the Three
Non-nuclear Principles.
It would be great to have your support, for instance, you could
Contact the Japanese Ambassador in your country, to ask for a reaffirmation of the Three Non-nuclear Principles.
Write opinion pieces/ letters to the editor where you point out that no matter the size of the election win, the Japanese people have spoken - through polls and the petition - and they don’t want a change in the Three Non-nuclear Principles and want Japan to join the TPNW.
Thank you all.
Yours in solidarity,
Akira Kawasaki
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