Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday (28/2) reiterated that the US idea to host Japan with nuclear weapons is unacceptable.
Recently, the US began to lobby Japan to want to keep nuclear weapons as a form of deterrence in the midst of heating up relations between Russia and Ukraine. Even now the long feared invasion is actually happening.
In front of parliament, Kishida stressed that his government would stick to the three non-nuclear principles. Prior to this, Kishida's former predecessor, Shinzo Abe, called for the option of sharing the task of storing nuclear weapons for discussion.
"This is unacceptable given the attitude of our country to maintain the three non-nuclear principles," Kishida said, as quoted by Kyodo.
Currently, Japan still adheres to its three principles, namely by not producing, possessing, and permitting nuclear weapons in its territory. This principle cannot be separated from the trauma of the past where the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by US nuclear bombs.
Kishida, who used to be a member of the House of Representatives from Hiroshima, was also one of the people who actively called for the birth of a world free from nuclear weapons.
Kishida's stance on nuclear weapons is slightly different from Abe's. The former Prime Minister of Japan, who resigned for health reasons at the end of 2020, felt that Japan should consider it considering the current world conditions.
"Japan is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has three non-nuclear principles, but it should not be treated as a taboo discussion about the reality of how the world remains safe," Abe said, as quoted by the Japan Times.
Speaking during a program on the Fuji Television channel, Abe felt the Japanese government should now consider various options in its discussions, including sharing nuclear weapons with its allies.
The NATO program allows the US to deploy its nuclear weapons in Europe under strict scrutiny. At the same time, the United States also allows allies that do not possess nuclear weapons to share the task of storing and taking part in the decision-making process if those weapons are to be used.
According to Abe, NATO's nuclear sharing program could help Japan avoid the threats that surround its region.