Rev. Dr. Yoshinori Shinohara, Secretary General of ACRP/RfP Asia, delivered his message.
Also, Rev. Masamichi Kamiya, Senior Advisor to Secretary General of ACRP/ RfP Asia, gave us comments at the bottom of the page!
From today, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference begins at the United Nations. Held every five years, the NPT aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and advance the goal of disarmament. 190 countries and regions are parties to this treaty.
Also, Rev. Masamichi Kamiya, Senior Advisor to Secretary General of ACRP/ RfP Asia, gave us comments at the bottom of the page!
From today, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference begins at the United Nations. Held every five years, the NPT aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and advance the goal of disarmament. 190 countries and regions are parties to this treaty.
The current international landscape is truly dire. With nuclear-armed states such as the U.S., Russia, China, and France hinting at the potential use of nuclear weapons or expanding their arsenals, the risk has risen significantly. Regrettably, the last two NPT Review Conferences failed to reach a consensus on a final agreement. This time, we earnestly hope for a fruitful agreement that leads to concrete progress.
On April 20, WCRP/RfP Japan issued a statement ahead of this conference. As religious leaders from the only nation to have suffered the use of nuclear weapons in war, their message carries immense moral weight. We urge global political leaders to take these words to heart.
It emphasizes four key points:
1. Reaffirmation and sincere adherence to past NPT agreements.
2. Concrete implementation of nuclear disarmament obligations under Article VI of the NPT.
3. Prioritizing complementarity with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and establishing abolition as an “absolute goal.”
4. Moving beyond self-centered nationalism to rebuild international cooperation.
Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP) fully endorses this statement.
The Asia-Pacific region remains overshadowed by the threat of nuclear weapons. In Northeast Asia, nuclear-armed states are creating serious and ongoing tensions. In South Asia, the presence of nuclear-armed states, combined with recurring armed conflicts, has created an extremely unstable and dangerous situation.
Furthermore, we must not forget the lingering effects of nuclear testing. Over the past 80 years, the Pacific region has been used as a testing ground, leaving behind traces of radiation that continue to cause immense suffering to this day. Australia, too, has endured similarly devastating damage from such tests.
In Central Asia, places like Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan as tragic reminders of the countless people who fell victim to radioactive fallout by nuclear test.
Given these deeply rooted issues across Asia and the Pacific, the success of this NPT Conference is not merely a political goal for the Asia-Pacific region, but an urgent matter of survival.
On May 1, Rev. Masamichi Kamiya, Senior Advisor to ACRP, will address the General Debate on behalf of the WCRP/RfP global network. I sincerely hope his “voice of conscience” resonates deeply with all participants.
“Since joining Rissho Kosei-kai, I have been given the opportunity to learn English as part of its human resource development program. I studied international politics and disarmament while studying abroad in the United States, and at some point, this became my life’s work. Assuming that this journey will continue, I intend to approach the day with a sense of gratitude and a view of this as the accumulation of my life’s work”
It will be streamed live on UNTV, the broadcasting service of the United Nations Department of Public Information, which covers the activities and meetings of the United Nations (UN).
📅Friday, May 1 10:00am (New York) *Check your local time.
🔗UNTV (UN Television) URL: (9th meeting) Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) | UN Web TV
📋Rev. Masamichi Kamiya
Rev. Masamichi Kamiya currently serves as the Senior Advisor to Secretary General of Religions for Peace (RfP) Asia, also known as ACRP, since December 2014. He completed the Masters’ Degree in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University located in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A. in May 1987. Rev. Kamiya served for RfP International (WCRP then) both as an Assistant Secretary General between March 1989 and April 1992 and as an Associate Secretary General in 1998. Rev. Kamiya served as the Special Research Fellow of the Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University between October 1998 and March 2002. His major focus at the Institute was on policy recommendations for nuclear disarmament. As an academic consultant, Rev. Kamiya joined the delegation of Japanese Government to the United Nations Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which was convened at the UN headquarters in New York in July 2001. He was appointed as Rissho Kosei-kai’s Deputy Director for External Affairs Department in charge of interfaith dialogue between 2002 and 2007. Then he served as the Minister of Rissho Kosei-kai of New York between 2007 and 2011. Rev. Kamiya also acted as the representative of Rissho Kosei-kai to the United Nations between 2010 and 2016, during which he participated in major UN conferences and meetings, covering a wide range of issues, in particular nuclear disarmament. He is a co-author of the book in English titled, Nuclear Disarmament in the Twenty-first Century, published by Lightening UK Ltd. in 2004. Rev. Kamiya is also a contributor to the dictionary in Japanese titled, Gunshuku Jiten (Disarmament Dictionary), edited by Japan Association of Disarmament Studies and published by Shinzan-sha Publishing Company in 2015. He also contributed essays for policy recommendations on the op-ed page of major Japanese Newspapers such as Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun.
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At General Debate to be held on May 1 during the 11th NPT Review Conference, Reverend Masamichi Kamiya, Senior Advisor to the ACRP, is scheduled to deliver a speech on behalf of the WCRP/RfP Global Network.
Before departing for New York, Reverend Kamiya commented.“Since joining Rissho Kosei-kai, I have been given the opportunity to learn English as part of its human resource development program. I studied international politics and disarmament while studying abroad in the United States, and at some point, this became my life’s work. Assuming that this journey will continue, I intend to approach the day with a sense of gratitude and a view of this as the accumulation of my life’s work”
It will be streamed live on UNTV, the broadcasting service of the United Nations Department of Public Information, which covers the activities and meetings of the United Nations (UN).
📅Friday, May 1 10:00am (New York) *Check your local time.
🔗UNTV (UN Television) URL: (9th meeting) Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) | UN Web TV
📋Rev. Masamichi Kamiya
Rev. Masamichi Kamiya currently serves as the Senior Advisor to Secretary General of Religions for Peace (RfP) Asia, also known as ACRP, since December 2014. He completed the Masters’ Degree in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University located in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A. in May 1987. Rev. Kamiya served for RfP International (WCRP then) both as an Assistant Secretary General between March 1989 and April 1992 and as an Associate Secretary General in 1998. Rev. Kamiya served as the Special Research Fellow of the Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University between October 1998 and March 2002. His major focus at the Institute was on policy recommendations for nuclear disarmament. As an academic consultant, Rev. Kamiya joined the delegation of Japanese Government to the United Nations Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which was convened at the UN headquarters in New York in July 2001. He was appointed as Rissho Kosei-kai’s Deputy Director for External Affairs Department in charge of interfaith dialogue between 2002 and 2007. Then he served as the Minister of Rissho Kosei-kai of New York between 2007 and 2011. Rev. Kamiya also acted as the representative of Rissho Kosei-kai to the United Nations between 2010 and 2016, during which he participated in major UN conferences and meetings, covering a wide range of issues, in particular nuclear disarmament. He is a co-author of the book in English titled, Nuclear Disarmament in the Twenty-first Century, published by Lightening UK Ltd. in 2004. Rev. Kamiya is also a contributor to the dictionary in Japanese titled, Gunshuku Jiten (Disarmament Dictionary), edited by Japan Association of Disarmament Studies and published by Shinzan-sha Publishing Company in 2015. He also contributed essays for policy recommendations on the op-ed page of major Japanese Newspapers such as Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun.
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