Japan may revise its non-nuclear principles, prompting Chinese concern over potential shifts in Tokyo’s security and defense policy.
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly considering a review of the country’s long-standing non-nuclear weapons principles, Kyodo News reported Friday. While Takaichi has no plans to revise Japan’s ban on possessing or producing nuclear weapons, she may reconsider the third principle, which forbids the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan, the news agency said, citing government sources.
Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, adopted in 1967, prohibit possession, production, or introduction of nuclear arms, but critics say the third principle limits the effectiveness of U.S. nuclear deterrence. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to discuss revisions to security strategy and related documents next spring, aiming for a proposal by the end of 2026.
China voiced concern over the potential shift. “Japanese senior officials even claimed that Japan has not ruled out the possibility of possessing nuclear submarines,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, calling the policy change a “dangerous signal to the international community.”