The suggestion that the only nation to be the target of nuclear weapons in war could reverse its position and potentially have its own independent nuclear deterrent has provoked angry domestic opposition in the year that marks the 80th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II.
“The three non-nuclear principles are a basic national policy that is based on national consensus,” said Akira Kawasaki, a member of the executive committee of Japan-based NGO Peace Boat and joint chair of the Nuclear Weapons Abolition Network.
Kawasaki said the Japanese parliament has passed a resolution in support of the principles, “and previous prime ministers have pledged to uphold the principles on the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.”
“I myself was very surprised by the reports that the government might possibly be reviewing non-nuclear doctrines and peace groups and those representing ‘hibakusha’ (atomic bomb survivors),” he told DW.
Tokyo eyes change in nuclear policy
The controversy began on 11 November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi refused to confirm to a parliamentary committee that his government would remain committed to the three non-nuclear principles formally adopted in 1971.
On November 20, LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi raised concerns by saying that an upcoming review of Japan’s security strategy would focus on all areas.
“It is our responsibility as the ruling party to hold talks without any sacred cow,” he said. “We should discuss different topics.” The government will also re-examine defense spending and compile proposals covering all aspects of the country’s security by the end of April.
The pushback has been steadfast.
An editorial published by Mainichi Declared on November 19, “Reconsidering this principle would symbolize a retreat from Japan’s path as a peaceful nation. If Takachi pursues his personal viewpoint and moves forward recklessly, it will leave a permanent mark.”
However, the editorial posits that “there is no doubt that Japan’s security environment has become more severe”, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s acceleration of its own nuclear weapons program.
“But ignoring Japan’s ideals would be a waste of decades of work toward nuclear abolition. It would also raise concerns in neighboring countries,” it added.
Survivors lead nuclear resistance
Yoshihiko Noda, the former prime minister and now head of Japan’s opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, reiterated that position, saying Japan “should play a leading role” in promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons and promising at a press conference in mid-November that he would oppose changes to the country’s non-nuclear principles.
Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Victims Organizations, has also been critical, issuing a statement on November 20 saying it “strongly opposes” efforts to overturn the principles.
It added that the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki “cannot allow nuclear weapons to be brought into Japan or allow the country to become a nuclear battlefield or the target of nuclear attacks.”
Terumi Tanaka, a 92-year-old member of the group, told Kyodo news agency that nuclear weapons were “the devil’s tool.”
According to Akira Kawasaki, repeated opinion polls over the past decade have indicated that approximately 70% of Japanese are in favor of maintaining the three non-nuclear principles, even as geopolitical tensions have increased in the region.
Tensions have escalated even more recently after Takaichi said a Chinese attack against Taiwan would be an existential threat to Japan and would require the deployment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
Tension increased between China and Japan
Since then, Beijing and Tokyo have been locked in a heated exchange of words, with China airing anti-Japanese propaganda videos, increasing economic sanctions and accusing Tokyo of stoking regional tensions.
US President Donald Trump has not commented publicly on the dispute between China and Japan, although during a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, Xi told Trump that Taiwan’s “return to China” is an important part of Beijing’s vision for world order, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
Last Sunday, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Yonaguni Island, in the far southwest of the Okinawa archipelago and just 110 kilometers (68 miles) from Taiwan, to inspect the planned deployment site of a battery of new medium-range, surface-to-air missiles.
Japan’s nuclear debate raises alarm bells
China responded by claiming that the deployment was an attempt to “create regional tensions and provoke military confrontation”.
Tilman Ruff, a University of Melbourne professor and co-chair of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, says Japan has long been effectively coerced into accepting nuclear weapons because it is dependent on the US nuclear umbrella and in the past has turned a blind eye to US nuclear weapons in Japan, including on warships.
But having our own nuclear capability would be a big step beyond that.
“If Japan deploys its nuclear weapons, it would be a very significant development,” he said.
“It would destabilize all of Northeast Asia and possibly trigger a cascade of proliferation that would make it more likely that South Korea would also deploy nuclear weapons, all of which would lead to a regional arms race.”
“But I think there is a lot of concern among the Japanese public,” he said. “There is a very deep sensitivity in Japan because of the knowledge and hatred of what nuclear weapons actually do.”
Edited by: Keith Walker
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