NEW YORK: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa vowed to keep moving forward with efforts to realize a world without nuclear weapons, in an essay posted online on Sunday.

Kamikawa, who is visiting New York, said, “We will not stop moving ahead to promote realistic and practical efforts to create a world without nuclear weapons,” in the essay posted at PassBlue media, which covers the United Nations.

The Japanese foreign minister is set to chair a meeting later on Monday of the UN Security Council on the topic of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The nuclear threat is seen growing globally, with Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening to use nuclear weapons.

On Russia, which has invaded Ukraine, Kamikawa said, “Japan cannot accept Russia’s threats to break the world’s 78-year record of the nonuse of nuclear weapons.”

Regarding North Korea, which is boosting ties with Russia, the minister said, “We have to continue to send strong messages.”

She recalled that Japan was able to show the reality of the disaster caused by atomic bombs to leaders of the Group of Seven major powers and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the occasion of the G-7 summit in the western Japan city of Hiroshima in May 2023.

Kamikawa said that she wants to prepare an environment for nuclear disarmament through Monday’s meeting of the UN Security Council.

JIJI Press