Japan Brief / FPCJ, No. 0919
April 9, 2009


US President Obama Lays Out Overall Strategy Toward Nuclear-Free World

On April 5 US President Barack Obama set out a comprehensive strategy toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, a far-reaching aim to realize “a world without nuclear weapons,” in a speech in the Czech capital, Prague. This is the first time for the United States to present a comprehensive strategy toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. President Obama declared, “As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act.” Main Japanese newspapers pay attention to the fact that President Obama referred for the first time, as an incumbent president of the United States, to “moral responsibility” and appreciate that he has presented a concrete path toward nuclear disarmament.

180-degree Turn from Former Bush Administration

In the speech, calling nuclear weapons “the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War,” President Obama warned that the threat of possible nuclear attack by terrorists is increasing while that of global nuclear war has disappeared. He said, “I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons,” comprehensively and concretely announcing to the international community the political pledge, realization of “a nuclear-free world” which he advocated during his presidential campaign.

The comprehensive strategy for abolishing nuclear weapons that President Obama laid out in his speech has three pillars: promoting nuclear disarmament, strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), and protecting nuclear weapons and nuclear materials from terrorists. As steps toward “a world without nuclear weapons,” the strategy embraces such concrete measures as (1) reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the US national security strategy and urging other countries to do the same, (2) hosting a summit meeting within a year on global nuclear security to strengthen international coordination on nuclear terrorism, and (3) launching a new international effort to secure all nuclear materials around the world within four years with a view to keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.

President Obama also declared that his administration would make utmost efforts for the early US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which prohibits nuclear-weapon tests anywhere, including underground and in space, and proposed promoting negotiations on a fissile material cutoff treaty (FMCT) that bans the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials. The US signed the CTBT under the Clinton Administration but withdrew its support for the CTBT under the previous Bush administration that was reluctant to pursue nuclear disarmament. Without ratification by the US and some other countries, it is still hard to say when the CTBT will come into effect. Pledging to urge the US Senate to ratify the CTBT, President Obama signaled a complete change from the policy of the Bush administration.

Major Newspaper Editorials Highly Evaluate Reference to “Moral Responsibility” in the Use of Nuclear Weapons

All the major newspapers dealt with President Obama’s strategy in their editorials on April 7 and highly evaluated his reference to “a moral responsibility as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon” in his address.

The Asahi Shimbun wrote, “The president of the United States has acknowledged America’s moral responsibility and voiced his resolve to abolish nuclear weapons. As citizens of the only country ever subjected to nuclear attacks, Japanese must respond fully to Obama’s call for turning the wheels of history to realize ‘a world without nuclear weapons.’” Responding to President Obama’s resolve to keep trying despite his recognition that “This goal will not be reached quickly---perhaps not in my lifetime,” the Asahi concluded its editorial by saying, “Shrugging off is certainly not an option for Japan. As an ally of the United States, Japan can cooperate on many of the proposals made by the Obama administration to rid the world of nuclear weapons. And the Japanese government ought to propose its own policy for realizing a nuclear-free world.”

The Mainichi Shimbun highly evaluated President Obama’s referring to “a moral responsibility” by writing, “It can be said to have been an epoch-making address. President Obama’s referring to a ‘moral responsibility’ did not mean his acknowledging of a direct responsibility for dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even so, it was the first time in recent years for the US administration to state that the US was the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon and that, precisely for this reason, the US will take leadership in eliminating nuclear weapons. The Mainichi also wrote, “We expect President Obama to attend the A-bomb memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, . . . because we believe that the journey to a ‘world without nuclear weapons’ begins with repose for the departed souls of the victims who were killed by these horrific weapons.”

The Yomiuri Shimbun commented, “During Sunday’s speech, Obama said the United States, the only country to have used nuclear weapons, had a ‘moral responsibility’ to take action to help rid the world of nuclear weapons. We applaud Obama on this point, and we hope the president will be able to accomplish his objectives.” It pointed out, “The abolition of nuclear weapons is the ultimate prize, but this will be an extremely difficult task. Obama admitted during his speech, ‘This goal will not be reached quickly, perhaps not in my lifetime.’ Even so, it is important to take a realistic approach and nip in the bud each and every potential threat to the world’s safety. Whether Obama can take concrete action is being tested in dealing with North Korea, which launched a long-range ballistic missile Sunday in defiance of warnings from the international community.”

The Sankei Shimbun editorial maintained, “North Korea launched a missile in defiance of the Obama speech. What is needed now is for the US and other nuclear powers to jointly focus all their energy on strengthening the nonproliferation regime and coming up with a rigid countermeasure. . . . President Obama showed exceptionally strong irritation by saying ‘North Korea has broken the rules again. Rule-breaking should be punished.’ It is urgently required to build an effective framework or mechanism of sanctions against countries that aim at nuclear proliferation. There is a danger, otherwise, that some other countries will try to follow suit. Nuclear powers must have the responsibility to prevent that. We urge China and Russia, in particular, to recognize this responsibility, as they have strong ties with North Korea and Iran.”

The Nikkei stated, “We hope that this method of aiming at global nonproliferation through nuclear disarmament by the nuclear nations will work.” It went on, “We wonder how much reduction of nuclear warheads by the US and Russia would lead to nuclear nonproliferation. The world expects drastic nuclear disarmament that would lead to nonproliferation. But, there is a fear that too great a reduction might strengthen China’s position. This is a dilemma often concomitant with disarmament.”


(Copyright 2009 Foreign Press Center / Japan)

*Japan Brief is an original production of the Foreign Press Center, Japan, and does not represent the views of the Government of Japan or of any other body.


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