As Japan marks the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombs, its leaders are pushing for a renewed debate on nuclear weapons in a challenge to the nation’s long-time pacifist stance.<\/p>\n
Japan’s constitution renounces offensive military force, and successive governments have maintained a decades-old pledge not to possess nuclear weapons, produce them or permit their introduction into the country.<\/p>\n
That commitment is now under pressure as East Asian neighbours — notably China — boost their military capabilities, while doubts persist about the reliability of Tokyo’s biggest security backer, the United States.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has refused to clarify whether she will maintain the stance known as the three non-nuclear principles, and Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called last month for a “discussion without a taboo” on the subject.<\/p>\n
In December, an unnamed senior administration official told local media in an off-the-record session suggesting that Japan should possess nuclear weapons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The remark was widely reported by major Japanese outlets including national broadcaster NHK and Asahi Shimbun, sparking public criticism.<\/p>\n
“If I look at it cynically, I can’t help but think that maybe she really wants to change” Japan’s anti-nuclear commitment, 82-year-old Satoshi Tanaka, a campaigner who survived the 1945 attack on Hiroshima, told AFP.<\/p>\n
The country marked the 81st anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing on Thursday and will do the same on Sunday to commemorate the attack on Nagasaki.<\/p>\n
The August 1945 assault by the United States killed more than 210,000 people, including many from the effects of radiation exposure.<\/p>\n
It remains the only time that atomic weapons have been used in warfare, and was one of the last major acts of World War II.<\/p>\n
– ‘New militarism’ –<\/p>\n
The Takaichi administration is undertaking a major update of the national defence strategy this year in the face of China’s expanding military ambitions.<\/p>\n
The prime minister has already lifted Japan’s self-imposed ban on weapons exports and expanded defence spending, while pushing to amend the constitution.<\/p>\n
Those policies have drawn rebukes from China, which accuses Japan of “new militarism” and Takaichi of bending to the whims of the far right.<\/p>\n
They have also unnerved survivors of the 1945 bombings, who have long helped shape Japan’s post-war pacifist political culture.<\/p>\n
Tanaka, the Hiroshima survivor, expressed frustration that current political leaders like Takaichi are focusing on military capacity at the expense of diplomacy.<\/p>\n
“There is so much talk about national security. What about building peace through diplomacy?” he said.<\/p>\n
Despite winning the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, they are debating whether to continue their national association as their members grow older.<\/p>\n
As of March, Japan recognised just over 91,000 survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks, down from over 164,000 a decade ago. Their average age is 86.7.<\/p>\n
– ‘It only worries me’ –<\/p>\n
The focus has turned firmly towards the future of the non-nuclear principles, which date to 1967.<\/p>\n
Takaichi’s supporters argue that the final clause needs to be changed to allow the United States to bring nuclear arms to Japan and ensure regional deterrence.<\/p>\n
Hirofumi Yoshimura, head of the Japan Innovation Party, a coalition partner of Takaichi’s government, said the principle deserved discussion in the context of the US-Japan security alliance.<\/p>\n
“Of course, we need to work toward building a world without nuclear arms,” Yoshimura told reporters on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.<\/p>\n
“But when considering how to ensure the effectiveness of extended nuclear deterrence within the framework of our alliance with the United States, I believe we should…continue to adhere to the principle of ‘neither possessing nor producing’ nuclear weapons,” he said.<\/p>\n
“As for ‘not allowing them to be brought in,’ I do think there is some room for discussion on that point.”<\/p>\n
Critics argue that Takaichi’s hawkish approach to defence increase the danger for Japan.<\/p>\n
After Takaichi attended the annual ceremony in Hiroshima on Thursday, she sat down for a televised meeting with survivors.<\/p>\n
When pressed, Takaichi declined to offer clarity on whether she might change the country’s nuclear course.<\/p>\n
“Our nation currently adheres to the ‘three non-nuclear principles,'” she said in response to a direct question from Tanaka, without discussing what she might do next.<\/p>\n
“That,” Tanaka told AFP on Friday, “only explains the current situation. It says nothing about the future.<\/p>\n
“It only worries me more. I am concerned.”<\/p>\n
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