Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi does not insist on upholding Japan's non-nuclear principle

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (DOK Takaich/i 内閣広報室 / Cabinet Public Affairs Office)

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi avoided a firm commitment to uphold the three non-nuclear principles as her country commemorated the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States.

Kyodo News, quoted Thursday, August 6, reported that Takaichi only said the Japanese government "upholds" the old policy. The statement was made after he attended a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday.

Japan's three non-nuclear principles mean that the country does not possess, produce, or allow nuclear weapons on its territory.

At a press conference after the ceremony, Takaichi said Japan would push for "realistic and practical" efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons.

Takaichi attended the annual Hiroshima ceremony for the first time as prime minister.

The attitude emerged when the Japanese government was reportedly considering a revision of three non-nuclear principles. The study was conducted as Japan prepared to revise a number of important national security documents before the end of the year.

"It's too early to comment on the final form of the redaction because we are still in the middle of the process of revising the document before the end of the year," Takaichi told reporters after the ceremony.

However, he stated that the direction of Japanese government policy had not changed.

"However, there is no change that Japan firmly upholds the three non-nuclear principles in its policy direction," Takaichi said.

Kyodo News noted that Takaichi's stance differs from that of some previous Japanese prime ministers. Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida, for example, stated that Japan would maintain the non-nuclear principle when giving speeches at the annual ceremonies commemorating the atomic bombs in Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

However, the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi's political mentor, did not mention the principle in his 2015 speech.