Japan Foreign Minister to Chair Nuclear Non-Proliferation Talks at U.N.

By Yasushi Kaneko / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:26 JST, March 3, 2024

NEW YORK — Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will chair a ministerial meeting focused on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at the United Nations Security Council on March 18.

Japan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Kazuyuki Yamazaki announced Kamikawa’s role during a press conference at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday.

The meeting aims to facilitate dialogue between nuclear-armed and non-nuclear-armed countries, in pursuit of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s vision of “a world without nuclear weapons,” and all 15 member countries of the Security Council are set to participate. This will be the first time Japan has chaired a ministerial-level meeting on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at the Security Council.

According to Japanese government officials, the government is coordinating Kamikawa’s visit to the U.N. headquarters from March 17 to 20, during which she is scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Japan joined the Security Council as a non-permanent member in January last year for a two-year term, and will take the president role in March. This will be the second time for Japan to serve as president, and is expected to be the last time before its membership draws to a close.