Japan's Kyodo News, February 24th report, Japanese Prime Minister Hashimoto Sanae clearly expressed her position on the Japan-US "nuclear sharing" policy during questioning in the House of Representatives that day, stating: "Personally, I find it difficult to agree."
In fact, since taking office last October, members of Hashimoto's cabinet have repeatedly publicly discussed nuclear weapons issues, even explicitly hinting that Japan may break the "three non-nuclear principles".
According to Kyodo News, in November last year, when Hashimoto Sanae responded to questions from opposition parties in the Japanese Diet, she made a vague statement about the "three non-nuclear principles" for the first time. She said at that time, "I have instructed the relevant work to start," and said it was still in a stage where "I cannot personally assert specific revision plans."
Multiple government sources have previously revealed that Hashimoto Sanae had been discussing the revision of three security documents, including the "National Security Strategy", and simultaneously adjusting the "three non-nuclear principles". The reason she gave at the time was that the principle of "not bringing in nuclear weapons" would restrict U.S. nuclear submarines from docking at Japanese ports, thus weakening the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
On February 18th local time, the Trump administration received a Japanese delegation in Washington and held a so-called "Deterrence Extension Dialogue" (EDD). The participants included representatives from the Japanese Joint Staff, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Strategic Command, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Kyodo News reported that this dialogue solidified the consensus between Japan and the United States on further strengthening the Japan-US alliance's deterrence and response capabilities. Although the U.S. side reaffirmed in its statement "the use of all defense capabilities, including nuclear forces, to protect Japan," it did not mention the "nuclear sharing" issue, which has been widely concerned by the public.
Facing Japan's nuclear ambitions, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson had already stated in December last year: "The right-wing forces in Japan seeking 're-militarization' are evident to all." It is well known that several former Japanese officials have claimed that Japan has the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Japan has long been manufacturing and storing far more plutonium than needed for civilian nuclear energy, making it a non-nuclear-armed country with the ability to extract weapon-grade plutonium.
The spokesperson emphasized that if Japan dares to defy international justice and test the limits of the international community, we will not accept it! In recent years, right-wing forces have continuously pushed Japan to expand its military and strengthen its armed forces. The pro-nuclear statements of high-ranking officials in the Prime Minister's Office have once again exposed this force pushing Japan towards re-militarization and re-armament.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/7610327569053598248/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.