April 7 (Asia Today) — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to skip the upcoming Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York later this month, opting instead to send a vice foreign minister, signaling a shift in Japan’s diplomatic priorities.

The conference, set to begin April 27, has traditionally drawn increasingly senior Japanese representation. In 2022, then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida became the first Japanese leader to attend, emphasizing Japan’s role as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings and advocating for a world without nuclear weapons.

Japan also sent its foreign minister to a preparatory meeting in 2025, marking the first such attendance in nearly two decades. By contrast, the decision to send a lower-level official this year represents a downgrade in diplomatic engagement.

The move comes as global nuclear disarmament efforts face setbacks. The New START treaty between the United States and Russia has effectively lapsed, while France has announced plans to strengthen its nuclear forces. These developments have raised concerns about the stability of the global nonproliferation framework.

A Japanese government official said the international environment has changed significantly since 2022, with nuclear deterrence gaining renewed prominence and Japan’s role in advancing disarmament becoming more limited.

Analysts say the decision reflects a broader shift in Japan’s foreign policy from emphasizing moral leadership on nuclear disarmament to prioritizing security and alliance-based deterrence, particularly reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Kishida had framed Japan’s diplomacy around its identity as a nation affected by nuclear weapons, using international forums to advocate for disarmament. In contrast, Takaichi has signaled a more security-focused approach, with Japanese media reporting discussions about revisiting aspects of the country’s long-standing non-nuclear principles.

Public opinion in Japan also appears to support maintaining reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella as part of its security framework.

The decision to lower Japan’s representation at the NPT meeting underscores what observers describe as a transition from symbolic disarmament leadership to a more pragmatic security strategy centered on deterrence.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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