The US umbrella may no longer be a dependable pillar of national security, the official has reportedly told the media
Japan needs to consider developing its own nuclear weapons, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has reportedly told journalists.
The unnamed official, who advises the prime minister on national security, argued that Japan’s long-standing reliance on the US nuclear deterrent may no longer be fully reliable, according to media reports. Under these conditions, a departure from the country’s postwar non-nuclear policy could become necessary, the adviser said, as cited by NHK.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, the official acknowledged that the move would come at a high political cost domestically, adding that there is no indication that Takaichi is currently contemplating a policy shift.
Japan remains the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack. The US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final months of World War II, as the Soviet Union entered the war against Imperial Japan.
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After the war, Japan joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which recognizes only five nuclear-armed states – China, France, Russia, the US, and UK. In addition, Tokyo adopted unilateral principles in 1967, pledging not to possess, manufacture, or allow the deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory.
The adviser reportedly suggested that Japan might have to reconsider its commitments in order to establish an independent deterrent in response to perceived threats from China, Russia, and North Korea.
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