A key U.N. General Assembly committee Wednesday adopted a Japanese draft resolution to set a map for dismantling the world's nuclear arsenal.
The resolution, which sets 2003 as the deadline for ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), was approved by 144 countries represented in the Committee of Disarmament and International Security.
Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on Thursday hailed the committee's decision.
"I highly praise the adoption of the resolution, as it reflects a more concrete U.N. commitment to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation than the review meetings on the current Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty," Kono said in a statement.