Nobel-winning A-bomb survivors slam Japan over non-nuke principle review
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In a statement to Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, the group urged the government to uphold the three non-nuclear principles.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Nihon Hidankyo, Japan’s leading atomic bomb survivors group, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024, on Nov 20 issued a statement slamming Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s bid to review the nation’s three non-nuclear weapon principles
The group said in the statement that it “strongly protests overturning” the government’s long-held position of not possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons, and initiating a debate on revising it.
Saying that steps to abolish nuclear weapons must not be delayed, the group stressed that atomic bomb survivors “cannot allow nuclear arms to be brought into Japan or let the country become a base for nuclear war or a target of nuclear attacks”.
The group, known as the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, also urged the government to uphold the three non-nuclear principles and put them into law via the statement sent to Ms Takaichi.
Ms Takaichi, a hawkish lawmaker who became Japan’s leader about a month ago, is considering a review of the non-nuclear weapons principles, government sources said, in a move that would mark a major shift in Japan’s security policy.
Eager to bolster Japan’s defence capabilities, Ms Takaichi is concerned that the third principle, banning the entry of nuclear weapons, weakens the effectiveness of US nuclear deterrence, the sources said. KYODO NEWS
