Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has urged Japan to more openly debate nuclear weapons¡¯ role in the country¡¯s defense, a rare instance of a sitting Cabinet member broaching the highly contentious issue.
¡°While this is a difficult issue for Japan to discuss, one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons,¡± Koizumi said during an online news program recorded Friday ahead of a trip to Europe.
Koizumi¡¯s remarks come as the government weighs updates to key documents outlining Japan¡¯s security policy ¡ª including a possible revision of the country¡¯s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons.
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