For the Japanese, the first half of August is a period of soul-searching, remembering those who died in World War II and renewing our hopes for world peace. But more than half a century after the end of the war, and in spite of the termination of East-West confrontation, the world today remains a potentially dangerous place, with weapons of mass destruction continuing to pose grave threats to humanity.

The prospects for elimination of such weapons are increasingly clouded by breakdowns in international disarmament negotiations, particularly those involving nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. A proposed treaty to ban the manufacture of weapons-grade fissile materials -- the so-called cutoff treaty -- is up in the air. Agreement even to start negotiations is unlikely during the current session in Geneva, which will end in mid-September. China, which opposes U.S. plans to build missile defenses, is calling for simultaneous talks on a treaty to prohibit the military use of space.

At last year's review meeting on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the five declared nuclear-weapons states (the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France) committed themselves explicitly to eventually eliminating all nuclear weapons. Moreover, participating nations agreed to start negotiating a cutoff treaty immediately and bring the talks to a successful conclusion in five years.