On 8 and 9 April, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida visited the Netherlands for a bilateral ministerial meeting with Minister Timmermans and participated in the sixth Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) Ministerial meeting. This is the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister since Hirofumi Nakasone came to the Netherlands for the participation for the International Conference on Afghanistan in 2009.

On 8 April, a Dutch-Japanese foreign ministerial meeting was held between Minister Kishida and his counterpart, Minister Timmermans.
During the meeting, Minister Kishida commented that this was the first visit to Europe since his inauguration as minister and that he was pleased that the first destination in Europe was the Netherlands with which Japan shares a long and friendly relationship. In addition, he said that the attendance at the NPDI meeting has significant meaning for him, as he was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, where the next NPDI meeting will be held next year. In addition to the issues on Dutch-Japanese bilateral relations, both ministers exchanged their views on international situations in Asia, such as North Korea and in the Middle East.

The following day, Minister Kishida attended the sixth NPDI meeting held in the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Japan, the only country that endured an atomic bombing during World War II, aspires toward “a world without nuclear weapons” and has taken initiatives in the global discussion on nuclear weapons and non-proliferation. One of these initiatives is the NPDI, a cross-regional gathering of willing countries in the field of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation set up at the initiative of Japan and Australia on the occasion of the United Nations Assembly in September 2012.

During the conference, and at Minister Kishida’s initiative, the solidarity among the participating countries not to tolerate the nuclear development attempted by North Korea was confirmed. Furthermore, Minister Kishida announced the establishment of the youth ambassador for non nuclear proliferation as a new effort to spread information on the calamity of using nuclear weapons. The participating countries welcomed his initiative.

Collaboration between Japan and the Netherlands in the field of nuclear non-proliferation will be enhanced through the preparation process for the next NPDI meeting and also for the next Nuclear Security Summit in 2014 held in The Hague. Bilateral relations between Japan and the Netherlands are also expected be further strengthened through the collaboration.

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