rki.news | Source: Xinhua
TOKYO: A record number of Japanese local assemblies have urged the government to maintain the country’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, local media reported on Wednesday.
Since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office in October last year, at least 128 local assemblies from 36 prefectures have submitted written opinions to Japan’s parliament calling for the principles to remain unchanged.
The figure represents the highest number of such statements since the Diet began accepting written opinions from local assemblies in 2000, according to Tokyo Shimbun.
The issue has gained attention as the government plans to review Japan’s key security documents by the end of this year, raising concerns over possible changes to the country’s nuclear policy.
Assemblies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, along with other local governments, have adopted statements supporting the principles, with some calling for them to be legally protected.
Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles prohibit possessing, producing or allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into its territory. Adopted by parliament in 1971, the policy remains a central part of Japan’s post-war identity as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings