Ex-defense minister stresses need to debate Japan's non-nuclear principles

TOKYO — Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Sunday that Japan needs to debate the future of its non-nuclear principles, after a security official recently suggested the country should possess nuclear weapons for its defense.

Referring to Japan's reliance on the U.S. "nuclear umbrella," Onodera, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's security research council, emphasized on a TV program the importance of discussing whether to conduct a review.

Onodera said the government's current policy is to uphold the three non-nuclear principles, but he added that depending on the U.S. nuclear umbrella effectively amounts to asking the United States to defend Japan, even by using nuclear weapons if necessary.

"Failing to think about nuclear issues is politically irresponsible," he said.

The LDP, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, has begun discussions toward revising three key national security documents by the end of next year, with the handling of the three non-nuclear principles expected to be among the issues considered.

The Japanese government's policy is to maintain the three principles, which prohibit the possession, production or introduction of nuclear arms.

Takaichi, known for her hawkish national security stances, had raised concerns before taking office in October that the principle of not allowing nuclear weapons to be brought into Japan could undermine the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

The government, meanwhile, has a policy of adhering to a 2010 parliamentary statement by then Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that can be interpreted as permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons in emergencies.

Seiji Maehara, a lawmaker for the Japan Innovation Party, the LDP's junior coalition partner, said on the TV program that it is significant to closely examine whether the policy is appropriate.

Okada, now a lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, called for a clarification on how U.S. vessels armed with nuclear weapons would be dealt with, in the process of revising the three national security documents.

In Japan, debate over the matter has sharply intensified after the official working in Takaichi's office, speaking in an informal exchange with reporters on Thursday, voiced support for the idea of the nation acquiring nuclear weapons.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department called Japan a "global leader" in promoting nuclear nonproliferation, in what appeared to be a warning against the Asian country's potential move to obtain such weapons. Japan is the only nation to have suffered nuclear attacks.

© KYODO