This past spring, in Prague, U.S. president Barack Obama caught the world’s attention by calling for a nuclear-free world.

In line with this groundbreaking statement, from October twenty-first to twenty second, in Tokyo, the first joint Japan-US joint forum on this topic was held. The “Japan-US Partnership Toward A World Free of Nuclear Weapons” was organized by Japan’s Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the US-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Its aim was to provide a platform for the discussion of the Japan-US partnership in our changing world and there are plans to make it an annual thing.

This year, the keynote speech was made by former UN Ambassador Dr. Yukio Sato, Vice President of The Japan Institute of International Affairs. In addition, a memorial speech was made by Former US Secretary of Defense William Perry. Mr. Perry also took part in a panel discussion with Former Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shotaro Yachi of Waseda University, moderated by former NHK Washington Bureau Chief, Mr. Ryuichi Teshima.

Dr. Sato discussed Japan's three nonnuclear principles as possible keys to global nuclear disarmament. Sato said “Not producing, not possessing and not allowing the entry of nuclear weapons would contribute to nuclear disarmament. However, the present interpretation of Japan’s right to self defense also prevents the participation of the Self-Defense Forces in international peace keeping operations. It needs to be revised as soon as possible.”

Mr. Perry, who has been one of the Obama Administration policy makers in the field of disarmament, referred to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis in describing the dangers inherent in nuclear proliferation. He expressed his desire for the elimination of nuclear weapons with a quote by President John F. Kennedy, saying that "man-made problems can be solved by man."

The two-day session saw positive input from both sides of the table and generated a large amount of public interest, as indicated by the fact that the forum was attended by fully 250 people.