The city assemblies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have issued urgent appeals for Japan to maintain its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, amid growing concerns over potential revisions to the decades-old policy. The statements, adopted unanimously in Hiroshima and by majority vote in Nagasaki this week, directly challenge recent discussions within Japan's ruling party to reconsider the principles during ongoing security strategy updates.
Hiroshima's statement emphasized the need to prioritize the perspectives of atomic bombing survivors, while Nagasaki's resolution criticized attempts to alter the principles as "totally unacceptable." Both cities highlighted the principles' status as foundational national policy since their formal adoption in 1971.
The debate resurfaces as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considers revising the third principle – prohibiting nuclear weapons on Japanese territory – during security document revisions. This development comes three years after Japan's 2022 National Security Strategy reaffirmed commitment to the principles, making the current policy review particularly contentious.
Historical context remains central to the discussion, with the cities' WWII experiences continuing to shape Japan's nuclear discourse. The principles, born from the ashes of the 1945 atomic bombings, have long symbolized Japan's postwar identity as the world's only nuclear-attack victim nation.
