Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives a petition from Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito at the prime minister’s office on Nov. 27. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito petitioned Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to represent Japan as an “observer nation” in the next meeting for the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

If Ishiba were to accept the Nov. 27 request, he would become the first Japanese prime minister to take part since the treaty took force in 2021.

Komeito’s request was made at the prime minister’s office.
Saito told reporters that Ishiba wanted to look into Germany’s attendance as an observer at the 2023 meeting.

“I need to examine what discussions the country had before it participated in the meeting as an observer state,” Ishiba reportedly said.

The TPNW dictates that standard meetings are to be held every other year. The Third Meeting of States Parties is scheduled for March 2025.

“I understand that the prime minister mentioned the possibility of moving forward the same way as Germany,” Saito said.

The Japanese government’s reasoning behind not taking part in prior gatherings is that the five nations permitted to possess nuclear arms under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty have skipped both of the TPNW’s past meetings.

These countries are China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States.

The Komeito request comes ahead of next year’s 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Komeito also called for efforts to invite United States President-elect Donald Trump to visit those cities.

Support for Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) was also requested, including interpreters and transportation for the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in December.

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