Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)

Protest against a New Type of Nuclear Testing of the U.S.

1. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the United States Department of Energy announced on September 18 that the United States of America conducted a new type of nuclear testing two times, once during the months from October to December 2011 and another during the months from April to June 2012.  RENGO strongly protests against such nuclear tests from the standpoint that it has grappled until now in Japan with realizing abolition of nuclear weapons and a permanent peace as a sole nation suffered from atomic bombings.
   
   
2. The nuclear testing announced this time is said to have been a new type and have done to confirm the reaction of plutonium using an apparatus called “Z machine” which generates strong X- rays without using nuclear testing site nor explosives as in the past.  The testing is said to have been supplementary to subcritical nuclear testing.
   
   
3. The United States of America has shown, on one hand, positive stance toward nuclear disarmament since the speech “A nuclear- free world” made by President Obama in May 2009, but, on the other hand, it has repeatedly conducted nuclear tests in the name of maintaining the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons which it possesses.  We cannot help but say that the nuclear tests go against the international opinions which earnestly desire for “a world without nuclear weapons” and they stand in the way of ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the United States so as to put it into effect.
   
   
4. Moreover, since a final document which advocates “a world without nuclear weapons” was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in May 2010, a certain map for reduction and/or abolition of nuclear weapons has been drawn.  In September in the same year, Japan launched, together with other nine countries, the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) with a view to playing a role for promoting realistic discussions between nuclear nations and non-nuclear nations.  Japan as a whole is tackling the issue of nuclear disarmament as is seen in her proposal in the NPDI on the report form for how nuclear disarmament is being promoted.
   
   
5. Since July 2012, RENGO, together with two friendly peace movement organizations in Japan, i.e. the Japan Congress against A- and H- Bombs (GENSUIKIN) and the National Council for Peace and against Nuclear Weapons (KAKKIN), has carried out campaigns to demand nuclear nations for nuclear disarmament initiatives and, on August 2, representatives of these organizations visited the US Embassy in Tokyo to demand the US government  to grapple with the efforts for reduction and elimination of  nuclear weapons and for the stoppage of nuclear testing.  It is indeed regrettable that we heard the announcement of the new type of nuclear testing in such a circumstance.
   
   RENGO strongly demand the United States to immediately stop all the nuclear tests and to advance its efforts for realizing “a world without nuclear weapons”.