February 8 & 9, 2024

Japan Gensuikyo

Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) Secretary General Yasui Masakazu on February 6 stated, “It will be absolutely impermissible for the U.S. and Russian governments to abandon their special responsibility to implement the agreement on the elimination of nuclear weapons.”

The Japan Gensuikyo on February 5 issued a statement following the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

Yasui in the statement pointed out that the two governments’ insistence on nuclear weapons and their reliance on “nuclear deterrence” are the greatest obstacles to nuclear disarmament.

He emphasized that the key to breaking the current deadlock lies in the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as well as in the power of the world’s governments and civil society.

Doctors against nuclear war

The Physicians against Nuclear War (PANW), a member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), on February 8 published a statement in response to the expiration of the New START which capped the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 for both the U.S. and Russia.

The statement expressed “deep indignation at the leaders of the two governments for not making any efforts toward nuclear disarmament” ahead of the expiration of the last remaining framework on nuclear weapons reduction. It also noted that the Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight, and that the risk of an outbreak of a nuclear war has increased due to the New START’s expiration.

It expressed concern that “nuclear-weapon states may accelerate their nuclear arms races,” emphasizing that “the abolition of nuclear weapons is now more urgent than ever for the survival of humanity.”

The statement demanded that the Japanese government “take the lead in abolishing nuclear weapons and join the TPNW.”