Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Nov. 11 avoided stating whether her defense and security policies would adhere to the “three non-nuclear principles” that Japanese administrations have followed for decades.

Takaichi is planning accelerated revisions of the three security-related documents within 2026.

One of the documents cites the principles of “not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons” in Japan.

During the Lower House Budget Committee meeting, Mari Kushibuchi, a member of opposition Reiwa Shinsengumi, asked Takaichi if she plans to revise the three non-nuclear principles.

The prime minister said, “At this stage, the government maintains them as a policy guideline.”

But she added, “The review of the three documents will start from now. We are not yet at the stage where I can say what the descriptions will be.”

The non-nuclear principles are based on Prime Minister Eisaku Sato’s statement in the Diet in 1967.

The national security strategy, one of the three 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.”

Before becoming prime minister, Takaichi revealed in her 2024 book titled “Kokuryoku Kenkyu” (A study of national power), “I resisted this wording right before the Cabinet decision.”

She wrote, “Even if we continue to adhere to ‘not possessing’ and ‘not producing’ (nuclear weapons), the ‘not permitting the introduction’ principle is not realistic if we expect the United States to provide extended deterrence.”

Furthermore, Takaichi wrote, “I was concerned that in an ultimate crisis, the wording ‘adhere to the three non-nuclear principles’ would become an obstacle.”

In the Diet questioning, Kushibuchi referred to these passages and said, “The three non-nuclear principles are a national policy.”

Kushibuchi continued: “I am surprised that you do not clearly state that they will be maintained. The three non-nuclear principles have been confirmed by successive Diet resolutions and must never be changed by the prime minister’s judgment or a Cabinet decision alone.”

(This article was written by Takuro Chiba and Taro Ono.)