Foreign Minister of Japan strongly
supports the entry into force of
the Comprehensive Nuclear-
Test-Ban Treaty

The Foreign Minister of Japan, H.E. Yoriko Kawaguchi, has urged Foreign Ministers to work actively towards the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Ms Kawaguchi, speaking during a meeting yesterday with Mr Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, expressed strong support for the Treaty. Both the Foreign Minister and the Executive Secretary agreed on the importance of a high level of participation at the 2003 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, which will take place in Vienna from 3 to 5 September 2003. Executive Secretary Hoffmann, who is currently in Japan to attend a workshop on on-site inspections, thanked the Foreign Minister for Japan?s excellent support to the Treaty and the work of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission. He noted that work on the International Monitoring Station (IMS) facilities located in Japan has accelerated, and expressed his satisfaction with the progress. Japan hosts ten IMS facilities, including one radionuclide laboratory at the Japanese Atomic Energy Research Institute (RL11). The stations located in Japan comprise a primary seismic station at Matsushiro (PS22), as well as five auxiliary seismic stations in Ohita, Kyushu (AS051), Kunigami, Okinawa (AS052), Hachijojima, Izu Islands (AS053), Kamikawa-asahi, Hokkaido Kamikawa-asahi, Hokkaido (AS054) and Chichijima, Ogasawara (AS055). Japan also hosts an infrasound station at Tsukuba (IS30) and two radionuclide stations at Okinawa (RN37) and Takasaki, Gunma Takasaki, Gunma (RN38).

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
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