TOKYO: With the 79th anniversary of the first atomic bomb attack in Hiroshima passed on August 6, a panel of experts has issued a stark warning. The world is not just ‘backsliding’, but hurtling towards a potential nuclear war, failing to uphold its commitments.
At a press conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, Hiroshima Governor YUZAKI Hidehiko, Professor FUJIWARA Kiichi, and former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, all esteemed experts in their fields, spoke of the escalating tensions that could lead to a nuclear disaster.
Governor Yuzaki explained how experts from several countries, including Japan, South Korea, China, Russia and the United States, have come together to form the ‘Hiroshima Watch ‘. This crucial initiative is designed to monitor the progress, or lack thereof, regarding the obligations and commitments of various countries related to nuclear disarmament.
“Through Hiroshima Watch, we will clarify the responsibilities of nuclear-armed states and countries under the nuclear umbrella, urging them to earnestly work towards nuclear disarmament and the abolition of nuclear war,” the Governor stated.
Professor Fujiwara added that Hiroshima Watch “aims to keep a watch on the proposed policies that governments should adopt and pursue.” It will present the most important developments each year in nuclear disarmament, nuclear nonproliferation, and nuclear security, as well as their policy implications.
Professor Fujiwara said, “The last year has been one of dangerous backsliding. “Hiroshima Watch has identified three trends in particular. First, nuclear weapons states are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons in their national security policies or doctrines. Second, there is a growing risk of a significant increase in the number of types and deployment of nuclear weapons. And finally, there is a serious potential of the resumption of nuclear weapons testing by major nuclear weapon states. These trends, if not addressed, could lead to a dangerous escalation in the global nuclear arms race.
Fujiwara called for a commitment that nuclear weapons would not be a first-choice option in war, and there should be a reduction of reliance on nuclear deterrence and extended nuclear deterrence of countries protected by a third party. Fujiwara noted that China is increasing its stockpile of nuclear weapons while the United States, Russia and other nations are upgrading their weapons.
“The production and deployment of new nuclear weapons should stop immediately, and also the numerical limits of the new START Treaty – that is, the number of nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia – must be upheld and observed,” Fujiwara said. “As you can see, the reverse is taking place.” Added to this, he said, countries such as Russia and the United States are considering a resumption of nuclear weapons testing.
“As long as countries continue to depend on nuclear deterrence and extended deterrence for their security, we cannot realistically anticipate the elimination of nuclear weapons in the future,” Fujiwara added.
Australian former Foreign Minister Evans said it was essential to making policymakers and the general public “understand that any significant exchange of nuclear weapons would not just be catastrophic for the millions of those men, women and children immediately killed and injured but threaten the very existence of life on this planet as we know it. Complacency is not an option. The risk of the use of nuclear weapons, either deliberately or inadvertently, through system error, human error or miscalculation is growing with each passing year, growing enormously as the security environment in our region and the wider world grows ever more volatile.”
Governor Yuzaki was equally blunt: “In the face of increasingly severe global security challenges, such as the prolonged aggression by Russia in Ukraine and the armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, the threat of nuclear weapons use has heightened, and there is a growing trend towards greater reliance on nuclear weapons as deterrence. The situation surrounding nuclear war is more precarious than ever.”