Prime Minister Kishida reiterates that government will not discuss nuclear sharing, in response to Shigeru Ishiba’s query
Feb. 16, 2023
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated that the government will not discuss the policy of “nuclear sharing,” an idea whereby Japan and the United States would jointly manage U.S. nuclear weapons on Japanese soil. “The government is not considering discussing the issue,” Mr. Kishida said in response to a question posed by Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, during a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives (Japan’s lower house of parliament) on February 15. Mr. Ishiba urged that consideration be given to the issue, citing the tense security environment in which the country finds itself, among other reasons.
Mr. Ishiba advocated his thinking that it would be “possible” to introduce nuclear sharing in a way that does not contravene the national policy of Japan’s three non-nuclear principles. In response, Mr. Kishida said, “Doing so would unacceptable in terms of our legal system, including the three non-nuclear principles and the Atomic Energy Basic Act.” Mr. Kishida presented the same view when the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the issue in February last year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Kishida once again stressed the importance of drastically strengthening Japan’s defense capabilities. He stated that “extended deterrence,” a policy by which U.S. conventional and nuclear forces are used to deter attacks by other countries, was “indispensable for our national security.” He added that “Japan and the United States will cooperate ever more closely with each other to improve the reliability and robustness of the extended deterrence policy.”
(Originally published on February 16, 2023)
Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated that the government will not discuss the policy of “nuclear sharing,” an idea whereby Japan and the United States would jointly manage U.S. nuclear weapons on Japanese soil. “The government is not considering discussing the issue,” Mr. Kishida said in response to a question posed by Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, during a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives (Japan’s lower house of parliament) on February 15. Mr. Ishiba urged that consideration be given to the issue, citing the tense security environment in which the country finds itself, among other reasons.
Mr. Ishiba advocated his thinking that it would be “possible” to introduce nuclear sharing in a way that does not contravene the national policy of Japan’s three non-nuclear principles. In response, Mr. Kishida said, “Doing so would unacceptable in terms of our legal system, including the three non-nuclear principles and the Atomic Energy Basic Act.” Mr. Kishida presented the same view when the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the issue in February last year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Kishida once again stressed the importance of drastically strengthening Japan’s defense capabilities. He stated that “extended deterrence,” a policy by which U.S. conventional and nuclear forces are used to deter attacks by other countries, was “indispensable for our national security.” He added that “Japan and the United States will cooperate ever more closely with each other to improve the reliability and robustness of the extended deterrence policy.”
(Originally published on February 16, 2023)
