Former Japanese prime ministers call for commitment to non-nuclear principles

TOKYO - Two former prime ministers of Japan recently expressed their concerns about current Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's attempt to revise the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, emphasizing that the principles are a national policy that cannot be changed.

According to local media reports in Hiroshima on Tuesday, former prime minister Fumio Kishida said in a recent interview that since taking office as prime minister, he had clearly stated that he would maintain the stance of previous administrations and continue to uphold the Three Non-Nuclear Principles of not possessing, not producing, and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory as the national policy, and his attitude on the issue has never changed.

Yoshihiko Noda, another former prime minister, recently stated in an interview with local media in Nagasaki Prefecture that the Three Non-Nuclear Principles are Japan's national policy. He pointed out that "the number of citizens feeling uneasy about the Takaichi Cabinet is increasing," and that he will "continue to strongly advocate to the government on various occasions that the Three Non-Nuclear Principles must be upheld."

The Three Non-Nuclear Principles, not possessing, not producing and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory, were first declared in the Diet, Japan's parliament, by then Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in 1967 and viewed as a national credo. The National Security Strategy, one of the three security documents approved by the Cabinet in 2022, states, "The basic policy of adhering to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles will remain unchanged in the future."

However, Japanese media recently quoted government sources as saying that as her government gears up to revise the country's key national security documents by the end of 2026, Takaichi was considering reviewing the third of The Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which prohibits nuclear weapons from entering Japan's territory, raising strong doubts and concerns at home.