Today, December 22, 2025, the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly unanimously adopted a written opinion urging the Japanese government to uphold its long-standing Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which prohibit possessing, producing or allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory.
The principlesāno possessing, no producing, no permitting introduction of nuclear armsāhave guided Japan's post-war security policy since 1967. As the only country to suffer atomic bombings, Japan's non-nuclear stance is a cornerstone of its national identity.
The move follows comments by a senior security policymaker under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, suggesting Japan should rethink its non-nuclear posture. Atomic bomb survivors and residents have voiced strong concerns over any review of these principles.
On Sunday, Itsunori Onodera, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's security research council, said on a TV program that Japan needs to debate the future of its non-nuclear stance, intensifying discussions at the national level.
This is the first written opinion from the prefectural or city assemblies of Hiroshima or Nagasaki on reconsidering the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. In a statement, the assembly said, "It is our duty, as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, to continue striving toward the realization of a world without nuclear weapons."
Government sources say the Takaichi administration is preparing to revise key security documents by the end of 2026, with possible review of the third principle, which bans nuclear arms from Japanese territory. As the debate intensifies, Hiroshima's call highlights the challenge of balancing national security with Japan's role as a champion of nuclear disarmament.
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Hiroshima urges Japanese government to uphold non-nuclear principles
cgtn.com
