Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� February, 2003

Prime Minister Attends a Ceremony Marking the Destruction of Japan's Last Anti-Personnel Landmine Saturday, February 8, 2003 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attended the ceremony marking the destruction of Japan's last anti-personnel landmine in Shinasahi-cho, Shiga Prefecture. The ceremony was held on the completion of Japan's disposal of its stockpile of anti-personnel landmines as stipulated under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (the Ottawa Convention), concluded on September 30, 1998. In his remarks, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "There are still many landmines left in the world. Their elimination is only partially complete, and we will continue to call for their elimination. I earnestly hope that landmines will be removed worldwide and that the day will soon come when no one will be killed or mined by landmine." Then, at a verbal sign by the Prime Minister, the last landmine was exploded. After the ceremony, Prime Minister Koizumi attended the "Let's Get Rid of the Landmines! National Children's Summit." The summit was held to encourage children, the future leaders, to think about the world landmine issue, and was attended by approximately 100 children including two from Afghanistan. In his opening address, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "There are said to be between 50 and 100 million landmines left on Earth. The road ahead may be a long one, but I would like each of you to make this a meaningful summit by thinking for yourselves about what you can do to make the world a peaceful place."