PNND member Arms Control Person of the Year? Vote now!

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada

Katsuya Okada, PNND Member and now the Foreign Minister of Japan, is a nominee for the 2009 Arms Control Person of the Year for his call for states that possess nuclear weapons to adopt no-first-use policies and for the recognition that "[w]e do not necessarily need a nuclear umbrella against the nuclear threat of North Korea. I think conventional weapons are enough to deal with it.” See The Role of Nuclear Weapons: Japan, the U.S., and Sole Purpose.
Prior to becoming Foreign Minister, Okada chaired the Democratic Party of Japan Nuclear Disarmament group which drafted a model treaty to establish a North-East Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. The proposal is now being seriously considered by parliamentarians from across the political spectrum in Japan and South Korea– and is likely to be included in the Six Party talks once they resume. Informal soundings by PNND members in Washington indicate that the Obama administration is more open to the proposal than previous US administrations. However, Okada is facing domestic resistance (including from his own foreign service) in advancing and implementing his nuclear disarmament proposals. Voting for Okada as Arms Control Person of the Year would support these initiatives and strengthen Okada’s capacity to deliver on them.
Action: Vote by 8 January at www.surveymonkey.com/s/2009personoftheyear.

For other latest news from PNND see PNND Update 26

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Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator

Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament

PO Box 24-429, Manners St, Wellington, Aotearoa-New Zealand

Tel: +64 4 496-9629. Fax +64 4 496-9599. Mobile: 021 260 3727

alyn@pnnd.org

www.pnnd.org