The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not considering revising the three nonnuclear principles that forbid the possession, manufacture or storage of nuclear weapons on Japanese soil, new Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says.
In a group interview with the media recently, Kishida said the Cabinet is not discussing relaxing the principles so that U.S. ships can carry nuclear arms when visiting Japanese ports. In July last year, a report by the Liberal Democratic Party's national strategy office advocated altering the three principles to "2½."
"The three nonnuclear principles are very important rules that previous Cabinets have valued," said Kishida, 55, who was appointed foreign minister on Wednesday. "This should be kept in the future. We are not having a discussion on a revision."