Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü (Right) and Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fumio Kishida
The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, visited Japan 9-13 February 2015 at the invitation of the Japanese Government. During his visit, the Director-General met with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Fumio Kishida; Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane; Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Mr Shunichi Yamaguchi; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defence, Mr Hirotaka Ishikawa; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr. Yoshihiro Seki; Director-General, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, Mr Takeshi Hikihara, and other officials.
In his meetings, Ambassador Üzümcü acknowledged Japan’s valuable contribution to the work of the OPCW, including generous financial support for the mission to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme, as well as training and assistance activities aimed at enhancing implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Director-General updated Japanese officials on progress in the Syria mission and discussed ways of enhancing Japan’s cooperation with the OPCW. He welcomed re-affirmation of the Japanese government’s commitment to the destruction of Abandoned Chemical Weapons in cooperation with China.
While in Tokyo, the Director-General also participated in a roundtable discussion at the Center for Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (CPDNP) and addressed media representatives at the National Press Club.
In Hiroshima, the Director-General met with the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr Kazumi Matsui, and visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where he laid flowers at the memorial cenotaph for atomic bomb victims. The Director-General then travelled to Kyoto, where he visited the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, and delivered a lecture at the University.