The International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, an international panel co-chaired by former Japanese and Australian foreign ministers Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi and Mr. Gareth Evans, agreed Oct. 20 on an action plan toward global nuclear disarmament after a three-day meeting in the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima.
The action plan, to be included in a final report issued in January, will call for a drastic reduction of nuclear weapons worldwide by 2025, although the ICNND did not disclose a target figure at this point. Ms. Kawaguchi said the figure, taking into account the capacity of nuclear weapons dismantling facilities, will be "realistic yet ambitious."
It is hoped that the not-too-idealistic action plan will build momentum in the international community for a successful review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty next May.