Japan pushes for India's NSG bid, says it will promote non-proliferation

Tokyo: Even as China continues to oppose India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Japan on Sunday, said that if India joins the elite 48-nation group, it will help promote non-proliferation.

According to a report, Yasuhisa Kawamura, the Director-General of Press and Public Diplomacy in Japan's ministry of foreign affairs, said that India's NSG membership will help promote non-proliferation and that the country would continue to work with India to make its entry possible.

India's entry into NSG hit a roadblock after China scuttled its entry bid at the NSG plenary in Seoul meeting earlier this year. China had opposed India’s bid on the grounds that India was not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that procedural issues were not addressed.

Read: No problems with Pak joining NSG if due process followed, says India

Although, China was opposed to India's NSG membership, countries including United States, Australia and Japan have expressed positive support.

Kawamura said that Tokyo has never allowed India's non-signatory status to come in the way of its entry into the elite nuclear group.

Expressing his opinion about Pakistan entry into the nuke club, the official said that some countries need to put in more efforts.

Along with India, China has also been opposing Pakistan's entry into the nuclear group stating that it has also not signed the NPT agreement.

Commenting on its close ally Pakistan's entry into NSG, Narendra Modi at the G20 summit said that India has no problems with Pakistan becoming a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, provided that ‘due process is followed’.

Beijing in the past has insisted on consensus over the entry of new members into grouping after majority of the nuclear trading club backed India's case.