Japan — the only country ever to be attacked with nuclear weapons — will not participate as an observer in a March meeting in the United States of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, government and ruling coalition officials have said.
Instead, the country is considering sending lawmakers from the ruling bloc to the meeting, the officials said Saturday.
The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), fresh off their Nobel Peace Prize win last year, together with ruling coalition partner Komeito, have been calling on the government to take part in the meeting.
Japan, however, must take into consideration its reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its defense, the officials said, as the country faces growing security threats — including the escalation of military activities by China and Russia.
Sending lawmakers from the ruling coalition, instead, will still help Japan underscore its determination to abolish nuclear weapons, the officials added.
In addition to Japan, nuclear powers such as the United States, Russia and China have not signed the treaty, which bans the production, possession and use of nuclear weapons and went into force in January 2021.