Statement

We Protest the NATO Summit CommuniquéJuly 17, 2023
YASUI Masakazu, Secretary General
Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Gensuikyo)

The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania, adopted the "Vilnius
Summit Communiqué" on July 11, declaring that "Nuclear weapons are unique," that "strategic nuclear
forces are the supreme guarantee of the security" and that "As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO willremain a nuclear alliance.” This is an outrageous declaration that, in effect, makes the possession ofnuclear weapons permanent, and we firmly protest against it.

At a time of heightened international tensions, the world should strive for the sincere implementation of
the agreements reached in the past NPT Review Conferences, including the obligation to pursue
negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament (Article VI of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty[NPT]), the total elimination of nuclear arsenals by the nuclear weapon states (2000) and the achievementof "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" (2010).

The Communiqué must also be harshly criticized for its explicitly hostile stance toward the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), saying that it "stands in opposition to the Alliance’s nuclear
deterrence policy," and "risks undermining the NPT.”The fact that nuclear weapons cannot prevent aggression, protect the security of the world's people, or
prevent nuclear threats has been clearly demonstrated by the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine,
President Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons, and the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons inBelarus. “Nuclear deterrence" does not "deter nuclear war," but is nothing more than a means to invade
and dominate other nations under the threat of nuclear use.

At the 78th session of the UN General Assembly last December, two-thirds of UN member states voted
in favor of a resolution calling for support and ratification of the TPNW, and the number of countries thathave signed and ratified the TPNW, which entered into force on January 22, 2021, continues to increase
to 92 and 68, respectively. The majority trend in the world is for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear
weapons, and we strongly urge NATO member states to break away from the "nuclear deterrence" theory
and support and join the TPNW.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan attended this NATO summit. At the first summit he attended lastyear, Kishida announced the formulation of a national security strategy and a doubling of militaryspending, and this time he announced the further strengthening of military collaboration with NATO in
the Indo-Pacific region. The role of the prime minister is merely a pawn in the U.S. Biden administration,
as seen in U.S. President Joe Biden’s unusual compliment to Kishida's participation.

What is required of the Japanese government is to conduct peaceful diplomacy to prevent war based on
Article 9 of the Constitution, and as the A-bombed nation, to take the initiative in joining the TPNW andstand in the forefront in the efforts to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons. Once again, we strongly
urge the Japanese government to do so.