On November 27, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba received a petition from Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito at the prime minister’s office. Saito proposed that Ishiba represent Japan as an “observer nation” in the next United Nations meeting regarding the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). If this request is accepted, it would make Ishiba the first Japanese prime minister to partake in such a gathering since the treaty came into effect in 2021.

Saito mentioned to the media that Ishiba was considering the precedent set by Germany, which attended the last meeting as an observer. Ishiba expressed the need to investigate Germany's participation and the discussions that preceded it. According to TPNW protocols, meetings occur every two years, with the next one scheduled for March 2025. Saito indicated that the prime minister acknowledged the possibility of following Germany's example in this regard.

The Japanese government has previously refrained from participating in TPNW meetings, as the five recognized nuclear-armed nations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty—China, France, Russia, Britain, and the United States—have not attended the earlier sessions. Saito's request coincides with the upcoming 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Additionally, Komeito announced its intention to invite President-elect Donald Trump for a visit to these significant cities and sought support for the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, including assistance with interpreters and transportation for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December.