Kishida Says Japan Won't Seek Nuke Sharing With U.S.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday it is not acceptable for Japan to make a nuclear sharing arrangement with the United States, rejecting the idea of hosting US nuclear weapons as a deterrent amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: Kishida, elected from a Hiroshima constituency, has called for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Kishida said in parliament "it is unacceptable given our country's stance of maintaining the three non-nuclear principles," following a call by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the previous day to discuss the option of nuclear sharing.

Although it relies on the US nuclear umbrella, Japan maintains its three principles of not producing, possessing, or allowing nuclear arms on its territory. In World War II, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by US atomic bombs.

Kishida, elected from a Hiroshima constituency, has called for a world free of nuclear weapons. Appearing on a TV program on Sunday about Japan's security environment in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Abe said, "It is necessary to understand how the world's security is maintained. We should not put a taboo on discussions about the reality we face."

Abe, who heads the largest faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, argued: "As a country that experienced atomic bombings, we must uphold the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons."

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