TOKYO, December 23. /TASS/. The statement of an unnamed official in the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about the need to possess nuclear weapons is damaging to the head of government; The Prime Minister's government needs to take disciplinary measures against this person. This opinion was expressed by a member of the upper house of the Japanese parliament, Muneo Suzuki.
“Shouldn't the government have clearly warned him about such remarks and taken some disciplinary measures?” – Suzuki wrote on his blog. He drew attention to the fact that the official comments of members of the government always refuted the official's statements and expressed confusion as to why he allowed himself to make statements that directly contradicted the official line of the administration. “Such careless words and actions only harm Prime Minister Takaichi,” he added. Suzuki also expressed his belief that the Japanese government should show solidarity because this is in the national interest.
On December 18, an anonymous official in charge of national security at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office said he believes Japan needs to possess nuclear weapons. “I think we should have nuclear weapons. <...> In the end, we can only rely on ourselves,” Kyodo news agency quoted an anonymous official as saying. At the same time, he admitted that “this cannot be resolved as quickly as buying things at a convenience store.”
Japan adheres to three non-nuclear principles – no possession, no production, no import of nuclear weapons. These principles are not formalized in law, but all Japanese heads of government confirm their commitment to them, and discussion of the subject itself has been considered taboo for a long time, and therefore some politicians have talked about the presence of a “fourth principle” – which is not discussed – and called for it to be abandoned at least.
With Takaichi becoming prime minister, Japanese media noted that in the announced national security strategy review, the three-principle non-nuclear approach will also be discussed. In particular, it has been argued that Takaichi is at least willing to support lifting the ban on US nuclear weapons imports into the country. At the same time, in the context of these publications, the Prime Minister herself stated that she did not give instructions to amend the non-nuclear principles during the discussions on the new version of the national security strategy.
