Russia's military takeover in Crimea threatens to set back global talks on nuclear disarmament with fears North Korea and other atomic nations will decide never to follow Ukraine's example and surrender their bombs.
Japan is attempting to kickstart negotiations to rid the world of nuclear weapons by hosting a 12-nation summit beginning Friday in Hiroshima, the first city ever to suffer nuclear attack.
The talks include Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and will focus on the devastating human cost of nuclear war.
But the participating countries are divided on demands from disarmament groups and some countries to declare never again "under any circumstances" to use nuclear weapons, with Australia one of small group opposed.
Australia is concerned such wording is part of a push by some countries to introduce a global ban on atomic bombs, a move the government sees as impractical without co-operation from the existing nuclear powers.
The trouble in Ukraine has also intruded in the lead-up to the talks. A Japanese foreign ministry official conceded North Korea might draw a lesson from the crisis – that Russia would never have seized Ukraine territory had Kiev not decided in 1992 to abandon its nuclear arsenal. The issue is expected to be discussed ahead of the ministers’ meeting on Friday.
The official, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said the Hiroshima talks would focus on "practical steps", including a fresh bid to enforce a global ban on atomic weapons tests and hopes for a new treaty to stop producing radioactive fuel for bombs.
Disarmament activists want the Hiroshima meeting to also demand nuclear weapons are never used again.
"The people of Japan – especially the people of Hiroshima – are really expecting a strong statement,'' said Akira Kawasaki from the Japanese anti-nuclear group, Peace Boat.
But the Japanese foreign ministry official said the phrase "under any circumstances" was unlikely to be included in the summit declaration, to be known as the Hiroshima statement.
Australia objects to the phrase, citing the US defence alliance. Canberra argues the option of using nuclear weapons must be left on the table to deter other countries from striking first either at America or its allies.
But Japan, also a US ally, last year signed a United Nations declaration stating: "It is in the interests of the very survival of humanity that nuclear weapons are never used again, under any circumstances."
The Japanese official said a careful reading of that statement did not contradict Japan's reliance on America for nuclear deterrence.
Despite reductions in nuclear stockpiles since the collapse of the Soviet Union, hundreds of atomic weapons remain on high alert.
A poll in Australia commissioned by International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and to be released on Friday to coincide with the Hiroshima talks found strong public support for a global ban.
Asked "should the Australian government support or oppose the current efforts for a global treaty banning nuclear weapons?", 84 per cent said Canberra should lend support.
Japan hopes the moral pressure of holding the talks in Hiroshima – bombed in August 1945, three days before a second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki – will compel the international community to act.
Daniel Flitton's travelled to Japan courtesy of the Japanese government.
