Japan must have renewed discussions about the country¡¯s long-held three non-nuclear principles, a senior Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker said Sunday, as Tokyo continues to rely on the U.S. ¡°nuclear umbrella¡± ¡ª the latest signal that revisions could be on the horizon.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told an NHK program that while the government was adhering to the principles as a policy guideline, ¡°the question is what to do going forward.¡±
¡°Japan is under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which, in essence, means that the United States has pledged to defend Japan, even if it means using nuclear weapons,¡± he said. ¡°To simply ignore this nuclear discussion without any consideration is, in my view, politically irresponsible.
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