Particle.news
Download on the App Store
24 ARTICLES
·
17h ago

Japan Reasserts No-Nuclear Stance After Reported Adviser Call to Acquire Weapons

Tokyo publicly reaffirmed its Three Non‑Nuclear Principles following reports that a prime minister’s office adviser urged acquiring nuclear arms.

Image
Image
Image
Imagery captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites shows the Japanese island of Kitadaito in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Overview

  • Multiple Japanese outlets reported an unnamed security adviser in the prime minister’s office said Japan should possess nuclear weapons, while conceding such a move would be unrealistic.
  • Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated the government’s nuclear policy has not changed and reaffirmed the Three Non‑Nuclear Principles, declining to comment on the adviser’s status.
  • Figures across the political spectrum, including LDP lawmaker Gen Nakatani, Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito and opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda, urged replacing the official over the remarks.
  • The flare‑up comes as tensions with China persist after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s legal framing that a Taiwan attack or blockade could trigger a Japanese response, with Beijing stepping up travel warnings, seafood bans, cultural cancellations and military signaling such as radar lock‑on claims near Okinawa.
  • Japan is pressing ahead with defense and economic security steps, including deploying Chu‑SAMs on Yonaguni, Tomahawk upgrades for JMSDF destroyers and a Dec. 26 ministerial meeting on critical supplies, as U.S. senators introduced a resolution denouncing Chinese coercion of Japan.