Hiroshima: Two former prime ministers of Japan recently expressed their concerns about current Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's attempt to revise the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, emphasizing that the principles are a national policy that cannot be changed.

According to Namibia Press Agency, former prime minister Fumio Kishida stated in a recent interview that since taking office as prime minister, he had clearly committed to maintaining the stance of previous administrations and continuing to uphold the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. These principles include not possessing, not producing, and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory as national policy, and his attitude on the issue has remained consistent.

Yoshihiko Noda, another former prime minister, remarked in an interview with local media in Nagasaki Prefecture that the Three Non-Nuclear Principles are Japan's national policy. He highlighted that "the number of citizens feeling uneasy about the Takaichi Cabinet is increasing," and affirmed that he will "continue to strongly advocate to the government on various occasions that the Three Non-Nuclear Principles must be upheld."

The Three Non-Nuclear Principles were first declared in the Diet, Japan's parliament, by then Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in 1967 and are viewed as a national credo. The National Security Strategy, one of the three security documents approved by the Cabinet in 2022, states that "The basic policy of adhering to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles will remain unchanged in the future."

However, Japanese media recently quoted government sources indicating that as her government prepares to revise the country's key national security documents by the end of 2026, Takaichi was contemplating a review of the third principle, which prohibits nuclear weapons from entering Japan's territory. This has raised significant doubts and concerns domestically.