Japan vows never to possess nuclear weapons, rebuffing official’s idea

The government’s response came after a senior security official suggested that Tokyo needed nuclear arms to deter ‍potential aggressors

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Remarks from a source in the prime minister’s office about possessing nuclear weapons deviate from Japan’s long-standing non-nuclear principles. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:00am, 19 Dec 2025Updated: 2:56pm, 19 Dec 2025

Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Friday after local media reported ‌that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter ‍potential aggressors.

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, but declined to comment on the remarks or to say whether the person would remain in the post amid calls ‍from opposition leaders for the official to be removed.

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

This is driven in part by doubts over the reliability of US security guarantees under President Donald Trump and growing threats from nuclear-armed China, Russia and ‌North Korea.

Devastation after an atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Photo: AP

Japan hosts the largest overseas concentration of US military forces and has maintained a security alliance with Washington ‍for decades.

Japan vows never to possess nuclear weapons, rebuffing official’s idea

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The government’s response came after a senior security official suggested that Tokyo needed nuclear arms to deter ‍potential aggressors

The government’s response came after a senior security official suggested that Tokyo needed nuclear arms to deter ‍potential aggressors