| 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 .
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.
