30th September 2026 – (Beijing) China on Wednesday sharply criticised Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi after he urged that discussions on Japan possessing nuclear weapons and nuclear‑powered submarines be held “without taboos.” Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing that, as a non‑nuclear‑weapon state under the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Japan has binding duties not to accept, manufacture, possess or spread nuclear arms, adding there is “no room for bargaining.”
Guo argued that whether Japan should possess nuclear weapons is not a matter for Tokyo to determine at will, framing Mr Koizumi’s comments as a provocation that runs counter to the NPT and the post‑war order. He said the remarks diverge from Japan’s own Three Non‑Nuclear Principles and, in Beijing’s view, reveal the ambitions of right‑wing forces in Japan.
Beijing’s response also invoked recent Japanese statements, noting that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reaffirmed adherence to the Three Non‑Nuclear Principles earlier this year and that Japanese representatives restated that position at international fora. China said these pledges remain fresh in the public mind and should guide policy rather than be reopened through speculative debate.
Koizumi’s latest intervention follows a series of public remarks in which he has pressed for an open discussion of nuclear options and nuclear‑powered submarines amid a deteriorating regional security environment. His stance has been unusually forthright for a sitting cabinet minister and has reignited a sensitive domestic argument over whether Japan should revisit elements of its long‑standing security doctrine.
China linked Mr Koizumi’s position to what it describes as Japan’s accelerated “remilitarisation,” alleging moves to dilute constraints, rely more heavily on extended deterrence and contemplate hosting nuclear capabilities on Japanese territory. Beijing urged the international community to press Tokyo to honour its treaty commitments, uphold the Three Non‑Nuclear Principles, and step back from policies that it says challenge global non‑proliferation norms.
Guo concluded that the eightieth anniversary year of the opening of the Tokyo Trials is a reminder of the devastation wrought by militarism in Asia, arguing that Japan must address the concerns of its neighbours by strictly observing its legal obligations and eschewing any steps toward nuclear armament.