Japan says its no-nukes pledge has not changedReuters, TOKYOJapan yesterday reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons after local media reported that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter potential aggressors. Photo: AFPThere is a growing political and public willingness in Japan to loosen its three non-nuclear principles not to possess, develop or allow nuclear weapons into its territory, a Reuters investigation published in August found. Some lawmakers within Takaichi’s ruling party have said the US should be allowed to bring nuclear weapons into Japan on submarines or other platforms to reinforce deterrence. Taro Kono, a senior ruling party lawmaker and former defense and foreign affairs minister, said Japan should not shy away from a broader debate on the pros and cons of acquiring nuclear weapons. Discussions about acquiring or hosting nuclear weapons have long been taboo due to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II and the country’s pacifist constitution adopted after its defeat.
