Japan reaffirms no-nukes pledge after official floats weapons idea

Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Friday after local media reported that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter potential aggressors.



The unnamed official said Japan needed nuclear weapons because of a worsening security environment but acknowledged that such a move would be politically difficult, public broadcaster NHK and other outlets reported, describing the official as being from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's office.



At a regular press briefing in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan's nuclear policy had not changed, but declined to comment on the remarks or to say whether the person would remain in the post amid calls from opposition leaders for the official to be removed.



There is a growing political and public willingness in Japan to loosen its three non-nuclear principles not to possess, develop or allow nuclear weapons into its territory, a Reuters investigation published in August found.



While it remains a highly sensitive subject in the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, doubts over the reliability of U.S. security guarantees under President Donald Trump and growing threats from nuclear-armed neighbours China, Russia and North Korea have re-ignited the debate.