Opposition Leader Slams Govt, LDP over N-Ban Treaty Meeting

   Tokyo, Feb. 7 (Jiji Press)--Japanese opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda on Friday slammed the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for refusing to send representatives to a meeting of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
   "As we will mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, at least lawmakers from the ruling bloc should be sent" to the meeting, which will be held in the United States in March, Noda, president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told a press conference.
   The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attacked with atomic bombs by the United States in the closing days of World War II in August 1945.
   Noda's remark came after LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama said Tuesday that the party will not dispatch any lawmaker to the meeting.
   Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the LDP's president, earlier considered sending lawmakers from the ruling bloc to the meeting while not dispatching any government representative as an observer.

(2025/02/07-17:57)

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