The chair of the just-ended UN meeting on banning nuclear weapons has urged Japanese civil society to continue working towards a nuclear-free world.



Kazakhstan's First Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin spoke to NHK at the conclusion of the third Meeting of State Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on Friday.



Looking back on the meeting, he said the collective wisdom and decision of the participating nations will send a strong message to nuclear powers.



Japan did not send an observer delegation to the meeting. Rakhmetullin said, "We fully understand that, given the geopolitical context in the region." He was referring to "a very sensitive issue of one of Japan's neighbors" with nuclear and ballistic missile programs.



But he also said there can be no peace with nuclear weapons, adding such weapons only give the illusion of protection.



He said Japan is the only country to have suffered from a direct nuclear attack while other countries such as his own have suffered from nuclear testing. He said, "We know the pain, the feeling of Japanese people about nuclear weapons."



He said his message to Japanese civil society is to keep active, determined and enthusiastic in trying to make the world safer and free of nuclear weapons.