What's behind Takaichi's intention of considering revising three non-nuclear principles?

Editor's note: 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War as well as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration. At such a historical standpoint, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi issued an absurd claim that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, stoking tensions in the Taiwan Strait to court domestic right-wing forces. She not only evades reflection on Japan's numerous crimes during its colonial rule over Taiwan, but also casts history aside and replaces the pursuit of peace with the provocation of conflict. Her shameless political maneuvering and nauseatingly provocative stance are laid bare for all to see. In this context, CGTN launches a series of articles analyzing the deliberate historical amnesia and reckless provocations associated with segments of Japan's right-wing forces, with Takaichi as a prominent figure, in matters of history and regional security – so that history can truly serve as a warning to illuminate the present and caution the future.

Recently, Japan has exhibited several serious and concerning trends in its military security. The most significant and structurally risky among them involves the relaxation of nuclear-related policies.

As the Japanese government prepares to revise the country's key national security documents by the end of 2026, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering revising the third of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which bans nuclear weapons from entering Japan's territory, sparking strong domestic doubts and concerns.

Takaichi argues that not permitting the introduction of nuclear arms could hinder the deployment of U.S. nuclear-powered vessels or even nuclear weapons on Japanese territory, thereby weakening Japan's deterrence in a crisis.

In line with this, Japan is also considering acquiring nuclear-powered submarines and U.S. cruise missiles, while accelerating the development of its domestically-produced missiles with ranges over 1,000 kilometers.

The Three Non-Nuclear Principles – not possessing, not producing, and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory – were first declared in the Diet, Japan's parliament, by then-Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in 1967 and were viewed as a national credo.

The National Security Strategy, one of the three security documents approved by the Cabinet in 2022, states, "The basic policy of adhering to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles will remain unchanged in the future."

Experts warn that Japan is laying the groundwork for a strategic capability that could be "nuclearized" at any time. These developments signal a fundamental shift in Japan's security approach – from a solely defensive stance to one with potential offensive capabilities.

For a long time, Japan's right-wing forces have been advocating that the country should completely abandon the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and to develop and possess its own nuclear weapons. 

Japan is a member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Still, it has never signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first multilateral agreement to ban nuclear weapons entirely.

Experts consider Japan a "nuclear-threshold state," meaning the country possesses sufficient technology and materials to manufacture nuclear weapons..

China's Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang previously warned that, as a victim of atomic explosions, Japan should have a profound realization that nuclear war must not be fought and cannot be won.

"However, some individuals on the Japanese side attempt to upgrade the so-called extended deterrence of the U.S., push for the introduction and even the use of nuclear weapons through 'nuclear sharing,' and provoke an arms race. It's a very dangerous development," Zhang added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry previously stated that, while Japan claims to be a peace-loving nation and supports a world without nuclear weapons, the Takaichi administration has been issuing ambiguous statements about the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and has implied the possibility of abandoning them.

Senior Japanese officials even claimed that Japan has not ruled out the possibility of possessing nuclear submarines. These statements clearly reveal that Japan is making a major negative policy shift, which sends a dangerous signal to the international community, the ministry said.

Meng Mingming, an assistant researcher at the Institute for Japanese Political Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the Takaichi administration's efforts to revise the Three Non-Nuclear Principles not only stray from Japan's historical reflection as both a defeated nation and a nuclear-bomb victim, but also constitutes a blatant challenge to Japan's pacifist constitution and the international nuclear non-proliferation system.

The Japanese newspaper Kyoto Shimbun recently published an editorial arguing that re-examining the Three Non-Nuclear Principles would damage pacifism.

As the only country to have experienced atomic bombings, Japan's disregard for its long-standing national policies is completely unacceptable, the editorial stated, adding that Takaichi's attempt to revise the principles would represent a major shift in Japan's post-war security policy, contradicting the country's long-held vision of a "world without nuclear weapons," and potentially becoming a new source of tension in East Asia.

It emphasized that the Three Non-Nuclear Principles hold profound significance, because Japan, a country that experienced atomic devastation, has always believed that "nuclear weapons must never be used again” – a belief deeply embedded in Japanese society.

A nationwide survey conducted in August showed that 80 percent of respondents believe Japan should continue to uphold the principles, it said.

If the Three Non-Nuclear Principles are gradually dismantled, the international community might see that "Japan is moving closer to nuclear power," and concerns from neighboring countries could also grow, according to the editorial.