Nagasaki, the 81st anniversary of the atomic bomb worries pacifism advocates

A huge plume of smoke rises after the explosion of the second atomic bomb ever used in warfare over the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945. - AP Photo
As Japan commemorates the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombings , its leaders are pushing for a new debate on nuclear weapons that challenges the country's traditional pacifist stance. 

 The Japanese Constitution renounces the use of offensive military force, and successive governments have maintained for decades a commitment not to possess nuclear weapons, not to produce them, and not to allow their entry into the country. 

 That commitment is now under pressure, as East Asian neighbors, particularly China, bolster their military capabilities and doubts persist about the reliability of Tokyo's main security backer, the United States.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has refused to clarify whether she will maintain the position known as the three non-nuclear principles , and last month Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called for a "no-taboo debate" on the issue. In December, an unidentified senior government official suggested in an off-the-record session with local media that Japan should possess nuclear weapons . 

 The comment was widely reported by major Japanese media outlets, including public broadcaster NHK and the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, and sparked public criticism. "If I look at it cynically, I can't help but think that maybe she really wants to change," says Satoshi Tanaka, 82, an activist and symbol of Japan's anti-nuclear commitment, who survived the 1945 attack on Hiroshima. 

 The country commemorated the 81st anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing on Thursday and will do the same on Sunday to remember the attack on Nagasaki. The August 1945 offensive carried out by the United States caused the deaths of more than 210,000 people, many of them from the effects of radiation exposure. 

 It remains the only time atomic weapons have been used in a war and was one of the last major acts of World War II. The Takaichi administration is undertaking a thorough review of the national defense strategy this year in response to the expansion of China's military ambitions. 

 The prime minister has already lifted Japan's self-imposed ban on arms exports and increased defense spending, while also pushing for constitutional reform. These policies have provoked criticism from China, which accuses Japan of "new militarism" and Takaichi of giving in to the dictates of the far right. They have also unsettled the survivors of the 1945 bombings, who for years have helped shape Japan's postwar pacifist political culture. 

 Tanaka, a Hiroshima survivor, expressed his frustration that current political leaders like Takaichi focus on military capability at the expense of diplomacy. " There's so much talk about national security. What about building peace through diplomacy? " he said. 

 Despite having received the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their work, they are debating whether to continue with their national association as their members age.

 In March, Japan recognized just over 91,000 survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks, down from more than 164,000 a decade ago. Their average age is 86.7 years. Attention has clearly shifted towards the future of the non-nuclear principles, in force since 1967. 

 Takaichi's supporters argue that the final clause needs to be changed to allow the United States to introduce nuclear weapons into Japan and thus ensure regional deterrence. 

 Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of Japan's Innovation Party, a coalition partner of the Takaichi government, stated that this principle deserves discussion in the context of the U.S.-Japan security alliance.