Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday he has provided China and South Korea with an explanation of what he meant by his controversial remarks on Japan's nuclear weapons policy.
"I heard that the Foreign Ministry conveyed Monday to China and South Korea what I told a news conference on the day (of the remarks)," Fukuda told reporters.
Fukuda said he believes the neighboring states understand that Tokyo has no intention of revising its three nonnuclear principles, adopted in 1967, that Japan will not produce, possess or allow the presence of atomic weapons.
Fukuda told reporters off the record Friday, "The principles are just like the (war-renouncing) Constitution. But in the face of calls to amend the Constitution, amendment of the principles is also possible."
Both Beijing and Seoul suffered under Japanese military aggression before and during World War II and expressed displeasure over the reported remarks.