Japan’s Nuclear Option: Security Concerns Fueling a Shift in Global Defense Strategy
A source within Japan’s prime minister’s office suggested the country should consider possessing nuclear weapons, a departure from its long-held non-nuclear stance. The remarks, made by an individual involved in security policy under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, came amid discussions of reviewing Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles. While acknowledging the need for nuclear arms, the source also recognized the impracticality of such a move. This follows the potential for backlash due to Japan’s history as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings and its commitment to a world without nuclear weapons, enshrined in its pacifist postwar Constitution.
John Q. Hosedrinker