Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 51, October 2000

US-Japan Disarmament Meeting

' Meeting of the US-Japan Commission on Arms Control, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Verification,' US Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, Washington, October 20, 2000.

"Continuing a process begun on March 8, 2000, the United States and Japan have concluded the second meeting of the US-Japan Commission on Arms Control, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation, and Verification. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John D. Holum and Ambassador Norio Hattori, Director General for Arms Control and Scientific Affairs of Japan' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, chaired the Commission.

Augmenting ongoing bilateral consultations, the Commission reflects both sides' shared interest in consulting closely on arms control and non-proliferation-related concerns. At this meeting, senior US and Japanese officials reviewed their respective positions on key issues under the Commission' mandate, including missile defense, negotiations on a compliance protocol for the Biological Weapons Convention, Russian nuclear warhead dismantlement, and missile proliferation. Further, the United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to encourage non-governmental experts in both countries to enhance their collaboration in support of the Commission' objectives.

Separately, the Technical Cooperation Working Group met on October 19 in Washington. The Working Group reviewed the technical assessments undertaken over the last six months and agreed to undertake technical cooperation initiatives to explore larger, longer-term projects, particularly with regard to CTBT verification."