Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969–1972

55. Memorandum From the Acting Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Farley) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹ ²

Washington, April 10, 1972

Subject:

• Trip to Japan - Support of NPT

In the course of your trip to Japan I urge you to reaffirm U.S. support for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and our interest in Japanese adherence thereto. This recommendation is based on the following considerations:

• — our continued national interest in avoiding any increase in the number of countries having control over nuclear weapons, which could decrease our ability to prevent the initiation of nuclear war. This interest would appear particularly applicable to states, such as Japan, which are highly industrialized, whose position will influence others, and whose permanent coincidence of interests with the United States cannot safely be assumed.
• — the considerable diplomatic stake of the United States in the success of the NPT, which was ratified in this Administration. Such success could be jeopardized if key threshold states such as Japan did not adhere to it.
• — the importance of avoiding a break in the momentum that has been created by Soviet-US cooperation in promoting arms control measures, of which the NPT is a basic element.

The specific need for such a reaffirmation of support by you in Japan is pointed up both by recent Japanese press articles and persistent reports from diplomatic sources that the Japanese are under the impression that the U.S. is no longer particularly interested in their adherence to the NPT. They cite the absence of any mention of the NPT in the Nixon-Sato talks and in the President’s 1972 Foreign Policy Report. This impression is being exploited by the Japanese opponents of the treaty.

Philip J. Farley
Acting Director

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Office Files, Box 21, HAK Trip Files, HAK’s Japan Visit, June 1972 (2 of 3). Confidential.
2. Farley recommended that Kissinger urge the Japanese to adhere to the NPT during his upcoming trip to that nation. Farley wanted to address recent reports cited in the Japanese press indicating that the U.S. had lost interest in Japanese adherence to the agreement. To correct this, he highlighted the following considerations for Kissinger to stress in his discussions: 1) U.S. interest in maintaining control over the number of nations with nuclear capabilities; 2) U.S. interest in the overall success of the agreement; and 3) U.S. interest in maintaining the momentum generated by U.S. Soviet cooperation in arms control.