This article was originally published in Japanese on 18th May 2026, by Kyota Tanaka of Asahi Shimbun. Find the original publication in Japanese HERE. The excerpt below has been translated into English and may contain minor inaccuracies. The original Japanese text is also included for reference.

“I didn’t expect it to be so intense” Conflict and exchange continue NPT conference, the final week

There is less than one week left in the session of the “Review Conference”, which checks the status of implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) once every five years. The nearly three weeks of discussions so far have highlighted the depth of the conflict between countries. For the adoption of the “Outcome Document”, intense discussions are expected to continue until the closing of the 22nd.

Highlighting the depth of division between countries

“I didn’t expect the disagreement to be so intense.” Ivana Hughes, a senior lecturer at Columbia University and a representative of the U.S. NGO Foundation for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), who is observing the meeting, looks back on the discussions so far. “I was hoping for more positive dialogue, such as ‘we have different opinions here, but let’s find points of agreement,’ but it seemed that the nuclear powers were just attacking each other to earn political points.”

The meeting opened on April 27 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA. After a general discussion in which each position was stated, a discussion was held between the three committees. While various countries reiterated the importance of the NPT, saying that it is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, various scenes of confrontation also stood out.

Regarding Iran and the West…read full article in Asahi Shimbun HERE.

「相違、ここまで激しいとは」　対立、応酬続くNPT会議、最終週へ

核不拡散条約（NPT）の履行状況を5年に1度点検する「再検討会議」の会期が残り1週間を切った。これまでの約3週間の議論では、各国の対立の深さが浮き彫りになった。「成果文書」の採択に向け、22日の閉幕まで激しい議論が続く見通しだ。

各国の分断の深さ、浮き彫りに

「意見の相違がここまで激しいとは」。会議を傍聴する米NGO「核時代平和財団」代表で、米コロンビア大上級講師のイバナ・ヒューズさんは、これまでの議論をそう振り返る。「『ここは意見が異なるが、一致点を探ろう』といった前向きな対話がもっとあると期待していたが核保有国を中心に、政治的な得点稼ぎで互いを攻撃しあっているだけに見えた」という。