This report, Hiroshima Report 2019: Evaluation of Achievement in Nuclear Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Security in 2018 (hereinafter referred to as “Hiroshima Reprot 2019”) is an outcome of the “Hiroshima Report Publication Project,”1 commissioned by Hiroshima Prefecture to the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA). It updates the previous reports issued since 2013. As in the last six years the Hiroshima Report is published in both Japanese and English.

The prospects of eliminating nuclear weapons are still distant at best. Even more worring, the situation regarding nuclear weapons is becoming more and more complex. The five nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)-China, France, Tussia, the United Kingdom and the United States-and other nulcear-armed states-India, Israel and Pakistan- continue to perceive their nuclear weapons as one of the indispensable components for their national security, and have not made any definite move toward renouncing their nuclear arsenals. Instead, they have taken measures, such as modernization of nuclear forces and development of new delivery vehicles, with a view to sustaining nuclear deterrence for a longer period. Furthermore, the United States announced to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS) increase their frustration over such a situation. Many of them pursue to promote a legal prohibition of nuclear weapons, and finally concluded the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on July 7, 2017. However, nuclear-armed states and allies refuse to sign the treaty. It is also a concern that the rift between proponents (many NNWS) and opponents (nuclear-armed states and allies) has been further widening.

The status and prospects regarding nuclear non-proliferation are also gloomy. Although convening the inter-Korean and the U.S.-North Korean summits brought about the increased expectation of North Korean denuclearization, it is unclear whether Pyongyang has made a strategic decision on renouncing its nuclear arsenals. As for the Iran nuclear issue, as was concerned, the United States announced withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While the world falters in erecting a firm barrier against nuclear proliferation, the threat persists for a new proliferator to emerge on the scene. The threat of nuclear terrorism by non-state actors remains a high security concern in this globalized world. Growing worldwide interest in peaceful use of nuclear energy increases the risk of nuclear proliferation as well as terrorism. While problems facing nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear security intensify, efforts toward solving them have progressed at a snail’s pace.

The Hiroshima Report attempts to help the movement toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, first, by clarifying the current status of the issues and efforts surrounding nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear security. By doing so, it aims to encourage increased debate on these issues by policy-makers, experts in and outside governments, and civil society. Furthermore, by issuing the “Report” and the “Evaluation” from Hiroshima, where a nuclear weapon was once used, it aims to help focus attention and promote further actions in various fields toward the alization of a world without nuclear weapons.

The Research Committee was established to conduct this project, namely producing the “Report” and the “Evaluation.” This Committee met once within the Japanese Fiscal Year 2018 to discuss the contents. The members of the Research Committee are as follows

Chairperson

Sumio Tarui (Director, Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (CPDNP), JIIA)

Research Members

Sukeyuki Ichimasa (Senior Research Fellow, National Institute for Defense Studies)
Akira Kawasaki (Executive Committee Member, Peace Boat)
Masahiro Kikuchi (Board Member, Nuclear Material Control Center)
Mitsuru Kurosawa (Professor, Osaka Jogakuin University)
Kazumi Mizumoto (Vice-President, Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University)
Hiroshi Tamai (Senior Expert, Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Security, Japan Atomic Energy Agency)

The Research Committee appreciates the comments and advices to the “Report” given by the following experts.

Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe (Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School)
Mr. Mark Fitzpatrick (Former Executive Director of the Americas Office and head of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme, International Institute for Strategic Studies)
Professor John Simpson (Emeritus Professor of International Relations, University of Southampton)
Professor Tatsujiro Suzuki (Director, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition,Nagasaki University)

In this edition, experts posted articles on the TPNW and other nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation issues.2

Appreciation is also expressed to Mr. Gordon Wyn Jones (King’s College London, Centre for Science and Secutiry Studies) for editing the Hiroshima Report as well as valuable comments.

Views or opinions expressed in the “Report,” “Evaluation” and “Articles” are those of the members of the Research Committee or respective authors, and do not necessarily represend the view of the Hiroshima Prefecture, the JIIA, or the orgnizations to which they belong. Not all of the members necessarily agree on all of the points discussed.

---

1 This project has been conducted as a part of the “Hiroshima for Global Peace” Plan launched by Hiroshima Prefecture in 2011.

2 Views or opinions expressed in the articles are those of the respective authors, and do not represent the view of the Hirohsima Prefecture, the JIIA, or the organizations to which they belong. The Research Committee appreciates Shun Muramatsu, and Takaaki Sato for translating those articles.