Tokyo should seek stronger assurances from Washington about its commitment to Japan’s nuclear defense, in order to deflect concerns that could fuel domestic calls for an independent nuclear arsenal, Taro Kono, a prime ministerial contender, said.
Kono, who oversees Japan’s digital transformation and has been both foreign and defense minister, made the comment amid uncertainty over November’s U.S. presidential election fought by Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“If the U.S. government becomes unstable, some people in Japan might suggest that Japan develop an independent nuclear deterrent,” Kono told Reuters. “However, if Japan were to declare its intention to abandon nuclear disarmament, South Korea and others might follow suit.”
The only nation to have suffered atomic bomb attacks, Japan has long renounced nuclear weapons, relying instead on the United States to deter potential nuclear-armed rivals such as China, North Korea and Russia.
