Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi has called for unity on nuclear disarmament during a meeting at UN headquarters in New York.



Iwaya was speaking on Monday at the meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the NPT.



Iwaya said there have been "accelerating moves that run counter to the progress of nuclear disarmament or threaten nuclear non-proliferation", such as a rapid, opaque build-up of nuclear capabilities and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.



Iwaya said, "the frameworks for international cooperation based on multilateralism, including the NPT, also face difficulties."



Iwaya said the state parties to the treaty failed to adopt outcome documents at the past two review conferences, and that some say the NPT architecture is in crisis.



Iwaya called on the parties to "cherish and exercise the spirit of dialogue and collaboration" and "work together at next year's review conference."



Iwaya also referred to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo -- a group representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He said calls for achieving a world without nuclear weapons are becoming louder than ever.