U.N. panel approves Japan's nuclear disarmament resolution

NEW YORK (Kyodo) A U.N. General Assembly panel Wednesday overwhelmingly passed Japan's nuclear disarmament resolution, with the Foreign Ministry hailing the result as a show of global support.

A record 166 countries on the First Committee voted for the nonbinding resolution, which underscores the importance of an effective framework for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The United States, Japan's closest ally, and India voted against the resolution. Bhutan, China, Cuba, Israel, Pakistan, Myanmar, and North Korea abstained.

In Tokyo, Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Yoshinori Katori said in a statement that Japan "welcomes and highly values" the adoption of the resolution, which "enjoyed overwhelming support from the international community."

"Although the nuclear-disarmament situation remains a challenge, Japan intends to pursue various diplomatic avenues to maintain and reinforce an international disarmament and nonproliferation program based on the NPT, responding to the political will of a large majority of the international community," the statement says.

This year's resolution, according to Yoshiki Mine, permanent representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament, received a record number of votes.

This year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the resolution was comprehensively revised for the first time in five years. The resolution declared a renewed determination to call on all nuclear powers to reduce their nuclear arms in an irreversible, verifiable and transparent manner, and eventually to eliminate the weapons completely.

The resolution, which refers to the NPT as the "cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation regime," is not binding.