Japan, Aus to cooperate on nuke disarmament, clash on whaling

During a joint press conference following their talks in Perth, western Australia, Smith referred to the possibility of resorting to international legal action to stop such whaling, while Okada expressed his regret at Smith's remarks.

A joint statement on nuclear disarmament was announced following their talks, in which the two ministers agreed to cooperate toward the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in May.

As a "first step" toward a world without nuclear weapons, the ministers also "found worthy of consideration" such ideas as banning the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states, or retaining nuclear weapons solely for the purpose of deterring others from using such weapons.

The ministers also "decided to deepen discussion" on these issues, according to the statement, which highlighted the two countries' stance of supporting US President Barack Obama's vision to seek a world without nuclear weapons.

Japan and Australia, which rely on the US nuclear deterrent and have often worked in tandem on nuclear policy, have initiated the creation of an international panel on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament