Japan reaffirms no-nukes pledge after official floats idea

Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Dec 19, after local media reported that a senior security official suggested it should have them to deter potential aggressors.

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The unnamed official said Japan needed nuclear weapons because of a worsening security environment but acknowledged that such a move would be politically difficult, public broadcaster NHK and other outlets reported, describing the official as being from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's office.

At a regular press briefing in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan's nuclear policy had not changed.

There is a growing political and public willingness in Japan to loosen its three nonnuclear principles not to possess, develop or allow nuclear weapons, a Reuters investigation published in August found.