LDP national security research commission will not include nuclear-sharing policy in proposals to Japan’s national government, deeming it unfit for Japan
Mar. 17, 2022
by Shigenobu Sakai, Masaharu Nakagawa, and Yohei Yamamoto, Staff Writers
On March 16, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s Research Commission on National Security held a study meeting at the LDP’s headquarters, concluding that a nuclear-sharing policy designed to deploy U.S. nuclear weapons on Japanese territory under the joint control of both countries was “not a good fit for Japan.” The commission also rejected the idea of revising Japan’s three non-nuclear principles. The group decided not to include a nuclear-sharing policy in its proposals to Japan's national government for revision of the National Security Strategy, Japan's basic guidelines for diplomacy and security that are scheduled for revision sometime during 2022.
With the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, one of the world’s nuclear superpowers, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (representing Yamaguchi Prefecture's District No. 4) and others proposed the nuclear-sharing policy. The study meeting was held after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (representing Hiroshima Prefecture's District No. 1) allowed the discussion to take place within the LDP. That was despite Mr. Kishida’s repeated insistence that Japan's national government would not consider the policy on the grounds that it violates the principle of non-introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan's territorial area, one of the three non-nuclear principles.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, chairperson of the research commission, addressed the participants at the beginning of the meeting: "We hope to incorporate a variety of opinions into Japan’s future security policy." The meeting’s deliberations were then held behind closed doors.
Yoko Iwama, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and Ken Shinbo, a professor at Keio University, both of whom are considered to be well versed in security policy, spoke at the meeting. They explained that the policy of sharing U.S. nuclear weapons with member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was adopted to ensure that Western Europe could maintain a balance of military power with Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The speakers asserted, however, that the policy is not applicable to Asia. Concerning the three non-nuclear principles, they are said to have pointed out that if the location of deployment of the nuclear weapons were ever to be discovered, the weapons would become the target of attacks, removing any benefit to revision of the three non-nuclear principles.
Some participants in the study meeting reported later that almost no opinions in favor of a nuclear-sharing policy or revision of the three non-nuclear principles were expressed, and that the commission had reached general agreement not to enter into discussions about the issues in the future. The LDP is also not expected to incorporate the nuclear-sharing policy or revisions of the three non-nuclear principles in its proposals to the national government, scheduled to be completed sometime in 2022, for revision of Japan’s National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines, and Medium-term Defense Program, three of the most important guidelines related to the country’s national security and defense.
In the study meeting, no objections were raised against the extended deterrence mechanism, in which the United States deters enemies from launching attacks by clarifying its intent to protect its allies, including Japan, with its nuclear umbrella as well as with conventional weapons. At a budget committee meeting in Japan's House of Councilors (upper house of the Diet) on March 14, Prime Minister Kishida stressed that the extended deterrence available through the Japan-U.S. alliance was "among the most effective in the world."
Although the conclusion reached at the study meeting within the ranks of the LDP suits Mr. Kishida’s position as a prime minister from the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, his de facto acknowledgement of the nuclear umbrella has brought into sharp relief that inconsistency with Mr. Kishida’s self-professed lifework of attaining a world without nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on March 17, 2022)
On March 16, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s Research Commission on National Security held a study meeting at the LDP’s headquarters, concluding that a nuclear-sharing policy designed to deploy U.S. nuclear weapons on Japanese territory under the joint control of both countries was “not a good fit for Japan.” The commission also rejected the idea of revising Japan’s three non-nuclear principles. The group decided not to include a nuclear-sharing policy in its proposals to Japan's national government for revision of the National Security Strategy, Japan's basic guidelines for diplomacy and security that are scheduled for revision sometime during 2022.
With the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, one of the world’s nuclear superpowers, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (representing Yamaguchi Prefecture's District No. 4) and others proposed the nuclear-sharing policy. The study meeting was held after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (representing Hiroshima Prefecture's District No. 1) allowed the discussion to take place within the LDP. That was despite Mr. Kishida’s repeated insistence that Japan's national government would not consider the policy on the grounds that it violates the principle of non-introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan's territorial area, one of the three non-nuclear principles.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, chairperson of the research commission, addressed the participants at the beginning of the meeting: "We hope to incorporate a variety of opinions into Japan’s future security policy." The meeting’s deliberations were then held behind closed doors.
Yoko Iwama, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and Ken Shinbo, a professor at Keio University, both of whom are considered to be well versed in security policy, spoke at the meeting. They explained that the policy of sharing U.S. nuclear weapons with member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was adopted to ensure that Western Europe could maintain a balance of military power with Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The speakers asserted, however, that the policy is not applicable to Asia. Concerning the three non-nuclear principles, they are said to have pointed out that if the location of deployment of the nuclear weapons were ever to be discovered, the weapons would become the target of attacks, removing any benefit to revision of the three non-nuclear principles.
Some participants in the study meeting reported later that almost no opinions in favor of a nuclear-sharing policy or revision of the three non-nuclear principles were expressed, and that the commission had reached general agreement not to enter into discussions about the issues in the future. The LDP is also not expected to incorporate the nuclear-sharing policy or revisions of the three non-nuclear principles in its proposals to the national government, scheduled to be completed sometime in 2022, for revision of Japan’s National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines, and Medium-term Defense Program, three of the most important guidelines related to the country’s national security and defense.
In the study meeting, no objections were raised against the extended deterrence mechanism, in which the United States deters enemies from launching attacks by clarifying its intent to protect its allies, including Japan, with its nuclear umbrella as well as with conventional weapons. At a budget committee meeting in Japan's House of Councilors (upper house of the Diet) on March 14, Prime Minister Kishida stressed that the extended deterrence available through the Japan-U.S. alliance was "among the most effective in the world."
Although the conclusion reached at the study meeting within the ranks of the LDP suits Mr. Kishida’s position as a prime minister from the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, his de facto acknowledgement of the nuclear umbrella has brought into sharp relief that inconsistency with Mr. Kishida’s self-professed lifework of attaining a world without nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on March 17, 2022)
