1 of 2 | Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on June 26, 2026. Photo by Asia Today
June 26 (Asia Today) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs have made the pursuit of nuclear disarmament increasingly difficult, but Japan must not abandon its goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo, Kishida said East Asia is facing its most severe security environment since the end of World War II.
“Japan must strengthen its defense capabilities and further reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance,” Kishida said. “At the same time, we must not give up the ideal of pursuing a world without nuclear weapons.”
Kishida, a lawmaker whose constituency is in Hiroshima, made nuclear disarmament a major diplomatic priority during his tenure as prime minister.
He cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as evidence that the international security situation surrounding nuclear weapons is “undeniably severe.”
Kishida said stronger national security and nuclear disarmament should not be viewed as mutually exclusive goals.
“Reality and ideals are not incompatible,” he said. “The issue is not choosing one or the other, but determining how to bring reality closer to the ideal.”
Kishida recalled becoming the first Japanese prime minister to attend a review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2022.
At the conference, he presented the Hiroshima Action Plan, a series of practical steps intended to advance nuclear disarmament while acknowledging the international security environment.
The plan calls for maintaining the record of non-use of nuclear weapons, increasing transparency surrounding nuclear forces, continuing reductions in global nuclear stockpiles, strengthening nuclear nonproliferation and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
“We must narrow the gap between reality and the ideal one step at a time,” Kishida said.
Ukraine warning for East Asia
Kishida linked the war in Ukraine to security concerns in East Asia.
He recalled his unannounced visit to Kyiv in March 2023, when he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and expressed Japan’s solidarity with Ukraine.
Kishida said he delivered the message that “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”
Russia’s invasion demonstrated that security in Europe and the Atlantic cannot be separated from security in the Indo-Pacific, he said.
East Asia faces overlapping concerns including North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, China’s growing military power and tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Kishida said Japan’s vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific seeks to improve regional connectivity, promote prosperity, reject coercion and intimidation and uphold freedom and the rule of law.
Kishida stresses U.S. alliance and international rules
Addressing U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, Kishida said “America First” should be regarded as a structural trend rather than a temporary development.
He said countries such as Japan, which have limited natural resources and relatively constrained domestic markets, depend on international law, multilateralism, free trade and the rule of law.
Kishida emphasized the importance of maintaining the Japan-U.S. alliance while preserving an international system governed by widely accepted rules.
Dialogue with China remains necessary
Kishida also called for continued dialogue with China despite security concerns and political tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
China is Japan’s largest trading partner, while Japan remains one of China’s major economic partners, he said.
“That is precisely why dialogue is important,” Kishida said.
He recalled meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping twice during international gatherings while serving as prime minister. Kishida also held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during meetings connected to Southeast Asian nations and a trilateral summit involving Japan, China and South Korea.
“It is regrettable that fewer people are now willing to engage in dialogue between Japan and China,” Kishida said.
He called for communication not only between governments but also through business, people-to-people exchanges, sports and culture.
Stable relations between Japan and China would serve both countries’ national interests and contribute to regional peace and stability, he said.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260626010009412