Japan Stresses No Use Of Nuclear Weapons Amid Ukrainian Crisis
Japan, as the only nation to ever experience atomic bombings, is emphasizing that nuclear weapons should never be used, amid concerns that Russia could use them in its invasion of Ukraine.
The Japanese government is planning to promote international calls for Russian self-restraint, after President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's deterrence forces on high alert on Sunday.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said that, especially as a prime minister linked to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima, he finds the use or even the threat of using nuclear weapons intolerable.
The government has rejected the idea of a nuclear sharing arrangement with the United States as a deterrent, although former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called for discussions on the subject.
It says it will continue its policy of adhering to the country's Three Non-Nuclear Principles -- not producing or possessing nuclear arms or allowing them on its territory.
Some other ruling party politicians also say it is necessary to discuss the nuclear sharing arrangement as an exceptional measure in a crisis situation. The issue may become a topic of debate in future reviews of Japan's security policy.