Abe assures Hu Japan won't go nuclear
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he had assured Chinese President Hu Jintao Japan would not acquire nuclear weapons, but use its position as the only country to have suffered atomic attacks to urge members of the nuclear club to reduce their arsenals.
Abe was speaking at a news conference during an official visit to Vietnam following a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Hanoi, at which the issue of how to deal with North Koreas October nuclear test was high on the agenda. Our country is the only one in the world to have suffered a nuclear attack, Abe said. We have to take the lead in persuading the world to give up nuclear weapons, he added. In a bilateral summit on Saturday, Hu thanked Abe for repeatedly maintaining Japans commitment to its non-nuclear status. In my meeting with the Chinese leader, I reiterated that Japan will not obtain nuclear weapons, Abe said.
Posted by: Fred 2006-11-21 |