May 24, 2026

The 11th NPT Review Conference, which took place at the UN Headquarters in New York City from April 27, concluded on May 22 without achieving a consensus on the adoption of a “final document”. This marks the third consecutive failure to adopt a final document, following the reviews in 2015 and 2022.

In response to this outcome, Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo on May 23 issued a statement. The full text is as follows:


Great Hope as Majority of States Parties Called for Implementation of NPT Article 6: On the Outcome of the NPT Review Conference

May 23, 2026
SHII Kazuo
Chairperson of the Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party

It is extremely regrettable that the NPT Review Conference was unable to reach a consensus and adopt an official outcome document.

However, more than 70% of the States Parties called on nuclear-weapon States to take action for nuclear disarmament based on Article 6 of the NPT during the discussions at the Review Conference. In addition, the draft outcome document revealed on May 13 clearly includes the reaffirmation and implementation of Article 6 and previous Review Conference agreements based on it. These facts are a source of great hope as they demonstrate where the global mainstream regarding nuclear weapons issues is positioned.

We express our deep respect for the tireless efforts of President Do Hung Viet, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu Izumi, as well as the conference organizers, UN officials, government representatives, and members of NGOs, including Hibakusha, who worked day and night under difficult conditions to help issue an outcome document with positive content.

The Japanese Communist Party made a four-point request to this Review Conference: compliance with the UN Charter; not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states; concrete actions for nuclear disarmament based on Article 6 of the NPT; and the implementation of the resolution on a Middle East nuclear weapon free zone. All of these points were reflected in the draft outcome document revealed on May 13.

This fact is extremely significant as it demonstrates that our party's requests align with the positions of the vast majority of the States Parties and stand within the global mainstream of world peace. Its importance remains unchanged in the slightest even though a consensus on the outcome document was not reached due to the opposition of some countries.

While issues such as the one regarding Iran have been cited as the direct cause for the failure to reach an agreement, the largest problem lies in the fact that the nuclear-weapon States sabotaged their obligations under Article 6 of the NPT and continued to persist in a stance contrary to those obligations throughout the Conference. This became the greatest obstacle to creating a consensus on an outcome document with positive content at the Review Conference. Persisting in such a stance from the position of clinging to nuclear weapons undermines trust in the NPT regime and exposes the world, including their own countries, to the danger of nuclear war, and thus must be strongly criticized.

The nuclear-weapon States should take seriously the strong warning given by Under-Secretary-General Nakamitsu at a press conference on the night of May 22: "It is simply wrong for nuclear-weapon States to assume that non-proliferation obligations will be just adhered to without nuclear-weapon States’ commitment and implementation of disarmament commitments under Article 6. This is a really serious lesson that we all collectively need to learn."

The fundamental force for realizing "a world without nuclear weapons" is the grassroots movements around the world. The Japanese Communist Party will continue to do its utmost to promote, as two sides of the same coin, the further advancement of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by overcoming the theory of "nuclear deterrence" and the advancement of the NPT regime as a framework aiming for "a world without nuclear weapons." We strongly demand that the Japanese government, in order to fulfill its responsibility as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, break away from the U.S. nuclear umbrella and participate in the TPNW.