TOKYO, December 25. /TASS/. The official who earlier told reporters on conditions of anonymity that Japan should field a nuclear arsenal is Sadamasa Oue, national security advisor to the country’s prime minister, the Shukan Bunshun newspaper reported, citing sources.
According to the government’s data, Oue is in charge not only of national security issues but also of matters related to nuclear weapons, namely nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
On December 18, an unidentified official from the Japanese prime minister’s office, responsible for national security issues, said he believed it was crucial that Japan become a nuclear-armed country. "I think we should possess nuclear weapons. <...> After all, we can only rely on ourselves," the Kyodo news agency quoted the official as saying. However, he admitted that "this decision cannot be made impulsively like buying candy from a convenience store."
Japan adheres to three non-nuclear principles not to possess, develop or allow nuclear weapons into its territory. The principles aren’t enshrined in laws but all Japanese prime ministers have so far reaffirmed commitment to them, while discussions of the issue have been considered taboo for quite a while, which is why some politicians have pointed to the "fourth principle" not to discuss nuclear weapons, and called for abandoning at least this one.
After Sanae Takaichi took office as prime minister, the Japanese media reported that the approach to the three non-nuclear principles would be discussed as part of the announced review of the country’s national security strategy. Media outlets claimed that Takaichi was ready to call for abandoning at least the ban on the delivery of US nuclear weapons to the country. However, the prime minister stated that she had not issued instructions to review the non-nuclear principles during discussions of a new edition of the nuclear security strategy.