Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that Japan should reconsider some of its defence posture, including that regarding nuclear weapons.
He was speaking on Japanese television in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Among the options it should consider would be the nuclear sharing arrangements in NATO. Under this scheme, the United States as a nuclear-armed power deployed nuclear weapons under its control to the territories of other NATO countries. Strict protocols for the security of the weapons and their release existed.
Japan was in favour of abolishing nuclear weapons worldwide, but Abe said that – even while pursuing this goal – the country should not lose sight of the realities of security.
He remarked that ‘Japan should not treat as a taboo discussions on the reality of how the world is kept safe.’