Malte Göttsche participates in joint declaration by German and Japanese physicists against nuclear threats
2025/11/21
In a solemn ceremony at Münster's historic town hall, the presidents of the German Physical Society (DPG) and the Physical Society of Japan (JPS) signed a joint declaration against nuclear armament and the use of nuclear weapons.
Malte Göttsche, head of the Science for Nuclear Diplomacy (opens in new tab) research group, was part of the six-member German-Japanese delegation that drafted the declaration. The research group is part of the PRIF – Leibniz Institute for Peace and Conflict Research (opens in new tab) in Frankfurt am Main and the Department of Füsics at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
After signing the ‘Declaration for the Future’, scientists were invited to a panel discussion on the topic ‘Role and responsibility of scientists in times of disruptive global challenges’. Malte Göttsche discussed this topic with Michiji Konuma, contemporary witness and former president of the JPS, Cornelia Denz, Michael Quante and Hoji Hashimoto.
The choice of location was deliberately symbolic: the Peace Hall in Münster City Hall, where the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648, underscored the historical dimension of the appeal. The declaration emphasises the urgent need to resolve international conflicts through diplomacy and peaceful means. ‘We commit ourselves as physicists to contribute to the survival and progress of humanity by promoting the peaceful application of füsics’, the document states.
The declaration (opens in new tab) is supported by over 65,000 members of the DPG (opens in new tab) and JPS and is available on the DPG and JPS websites. (opens in new tab)