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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa pledged Monday to launch a new dialogue framework to start negotiations for a multinational treaty banning the production of nuclear materials that have the potential to be used for weapons. With Japan holding the U.N. Security Council's monthly chair for March, Kamikawa said at an open briefing session in New York that the "Friends" meeting with like-minded countries is aiming to "enhance political attention" to the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. "The international community has become even more divided over how to advance nuclear disarmament. Nevertheless, we must steadily advance realistic and practical efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons," Kamikawa said. The move comes amid China's military buildup with its nuclear stockpile increasing, while fears linger that Russia might use such arms in its war with Ukraine and that North Korea may conduct its seventh nuclear test, the first since September 2017. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (front row, C) chairs a U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation at the U.N. headquarters in New York on March 18, 2024. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo "Almost eight decades after the incineration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons still represent a clear and present danger to global peace and security," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, referring to the U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities in the closing days of World War II in 1945. Warning that the risk of nuclear warfare was at its highest point in decades, Guterres urged the world body's key panel tasked with maintaining international peace and security to "look beyond today's divisions" and take action toward nuclear disarmament. Kamikawa said the Japan-led initiative is a "new step" to realize Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "Hiroshima Action Plan," first outlined in his speech to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's review conference at the United Nations in August 2022. The FMCT, proposed by then U.S. President Bill Clinton at a U.N. General Assembly in 1993, was designed to prohibit the further production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons, including high-enriched uranium and plutonium. It has not been finalized due to long-standing gaps among the countries involved. During the session on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, Kamikawa said a "rapid buildup of nuclear capabilities by certain countries could spark a nuclear arms race." Kamikawa condemned Russia's nuclear threats in its war against Ukraine as "absolutely unacceptable." She also criticized Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs for endangering the peace and stability of the region and the international community. Meanwhile, Kamikawa emphasized the importance of the peaceful use of outer space, while expressing concerns over the possible negative impacts of artificial intelligence and other state-of-the-art technologies on nuclear disarmament. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (L) and U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres shake hands at the U.N. headquarters in New York on March 18, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Japanese Foreign Ministry)(Kyodo) At the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington, together with Tokyo, had introduced a resolution to the Security Council that would call on countries "not to develop nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction that are specifically designed to be placed in orbit around Earth." White House national security spokesman John Kirby said last month that Russia was developing a capability that could not "cause physical destruction here on Earth" in an apparent reference to space-aimed military technology. Western media outlets, citing sources familiar with the U.S. intelligence, reported that the capability was related to efforts to place a nuclear weapon in space. The use of nuclear weapons in outer space is forbidden under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which has been ratified by the five recognized nuclear weapons states. It remains to be seen if the resolution will be adopted. Russia, one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, voiced its opposition to the draft resolution, calling it a "propaganda stunt."
Human consumption of crickets, which are rich in nutrients and expected to help solve humanity's food crisis, has reached a crossroads in Japan. A recent wave of firms joining the edible bug market may prove to be a short-lived fad as further growth is being impeded by soaring prices of ingredients and continuing resistance among consumers to making insects part of their diet. Businesses in the industry have taken a hit especially on social media where their products are sometimes singled out for abuse, and misinformation and false claims spread. In Tokushima Prefecture, crickets were used in school lunches for the first time in Japan in November 2022, making national headlines while drawing curious interest from students. The meal was provided by Gryllus Inc., a venture company in Tokushima city, western Japan, which used crickets in croquettes in a pulverized powdered form. File photo taken November 2022 in Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, shows cricket powder (back L) and croquettes (R) that were made using them. (Kyodo) But earlier this year, Gryllus closed its lab for the development of food using crickets as the price of the ingredients used to feed crickets skyrocketed. It said cost-cutting would not cover the shortfall. Additionally, the company said some people continue to feel a strong revulsion to the idea of eating the chirping bugs. "Complaints have poured in by phone, and it is making the situation really tough for us," a spokesperson for the company said. In December 2020, Pasco Shikishima Corp., a major Japanese bread manufacturer based in Nagoya, launched its "Korogi Cafe" (Cricket Cafe) series, with crickets in a powdered form blended into bread or cake products, such as financiers, the popular flavored French cake. The product, which was sold exclusively online, was conceived to ostensibly prepare for future food insecurity. It was well-received and sold out within two days of its launch, also garnering widespread media coverage. But a debate about human bug consumption -- the practice known as entomophagy -- started on "X" (formerly known as Twitter) in February 2023, sparking a firestorm at the company. File photo taken November 2022 in Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, shows croquettes being made using cricket powder. (Kyodo) While some people calmly expressed opinions and made fact-based points, others commented that they were disconcerted to learn that Pasco products contained crickets, with one person saying for example, "It makes me not even want to buy their products anymore." Another wrongly suggested that other products of the company might contain cricket powder and that it was not protecting consumers who might be allergic to the ingredient with appropriate labels. Both claims were groundless, with the company later explaining that Cricket Cafe products were manufactured in a dedicated facility and that there was no possibility of cricket powder being mixed with other products or plans for future use in any other products. Furthermore, Pasco said allergen warnings were clearly written on the packaging, asking consumers not to use the product if allergic to crustaceans such as crabs or shrimps, which have ingredients similar to crickets. It also clearly listed on the package cricket powder as one of the main ingredients. There were also posts calling for boycotts of Pasco based on conspiracy theories and wild rumors, such as one person who questioned whether eating crickets might cause miscarriages in pregnant women. The Cricket Cafe series has since been discontinued. In a 2013 report, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization recommended insect diets as a new source of protein. This is because with the expected continued growth of the world's population there are concerns that food will be in short supply. The JMA Research Institute Inc., a Tokyo-based think tank, estimates that the global market for entomophagy will grow from about 7 billion yen ($47 million) in fiscal 2019 to 100 billion yen in fiscal 2025. While many companies entered the market anticipating growth, success was not a forgone conclusion. In January, Indetail, a startup involved in information technology that had also entered the cricket food business in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, was ordered by the Sapporo District Court to begin bankruptcy proceedings. According to the Sapporo branch of credit research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd., sales of the company's cricket products failed to take off, causing a deterioration in financing for the operator. Total liabilities exceeded 200 million yen, including from its group companies. In Japan, insects have long been traditionally eaten as a delicacy in some regions, such as a southern part of Nagano Prefecture. However, there appears to have been a backlash against cricket-eating as the practice is unfamiliar to most people, who lack a sense of urgency about an impending food crisis. Experts suggest that overcoming the "ick factor" in cricket consumption will take more ingenuity on the part of the businesses. "It's true that insects have high nutritional value. There is less resistance to utilizing insects in herbal medicine and supplements," said Tomohisa Ishikawa, director of research at Japan Research Institute Ltd., a private think tank in Tokyo. But he added, "It would be better to develop technology for their utilization and apply it to food products so that it is ultimately more acceptable to consumers." 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