19th December 2025 – (Tokyo) An official in the prime minister’s office has argued that Japan should acquire nuclear weapons, a position that clashes with the country’s long‑standing non‑nuclear principles and is likely to provoke strong domestic and international backlash, according to multiple Japanese media reports on Thursday.
Kyodo News quoted the official, who is involved in shaping security policy under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration, as saying: “I think we should possess nuclear weapons.” In subsequent exchanges with reporters, the official cited a deteriorating security environment and signalled the need for discussion on Japan developing its own nuclear deterrent, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The remarks come amid indications from government sources that Prime Minister Takaichi is considering a review of Japan’s three non‑nuclear principles, which prohibit the possession, production and introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory. First articulated in 1967 by then prime minister Eisaku Sato in the Diet, the principles have been regarded as a national credo for decades.
Japan has previously seen political fallout over similar suggestions. In 1999, then Parliamentary Vice‑Defence Minister Shingo Nishimura was dismissed after public criticism of his proposal that Japan should arm itself with nuclear weapons.