Suga Implies Japan's Attendance at Talks on Nuke Ban

Tokyo, May 27 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Monday suggested that his country may attend negotiations on a treaty to legally prohibit nuclear weapons starting at the U.N. headquarters in New York later in the day. "We are in final stages of discussions" on whether to attend the negotiations, Suga told a press conference. "We, as the government, need to respond in a responsible manner after confirming whether we can present our country's position." The negotiations are led by Austria and other countries with no nuclear weapons. Almost all U.S. allies and countries that possess nuclear weapons are expected to be absent from the talks. At a U.N. General Assembly plenary meeting in December last year, Japan voted against a resolution to launch the negotiations, based on its position that cooperation between nuclear haves and have-nots is necessary to improve the effectiveness of nuclear disarmament. Japan is expected to set out such a view if it participates in the negotiations. END