Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors protest remarks advocating Japan's nuclear armament

Nagasaki, Dec 25 (IANS) Representatives of four atomic bomb survivor groups from Nagasaki issued a protest statement condemning remarks by a security official in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's office advocating that Tokyo should possess nuclear weapons, local media reported.

At a press conference held on Wednesday, the groups said such claims were unacceptable and called on the Japanese government to uphold the country's Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which prohibit possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear arms, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Kyodo News.

The statement said that arguments in favour of Japan's nuclear armament trample on the 80-year journey of atomic bomb survivors who emerged from an era of immense suffering, and therefore cannot be tolerated. It also urged the government to abandon a security policy that relies on nuclear deterrence.

Tadako Kawazoe, head of the A-Bombs Survivors Liaison Council of the Nagasaki Peace Action Center, warned that such remarks could turn Japan into a country isolated by the international community, and said Takaichi herself should reject the idea of Japan possessing nuclear weapons.

Shigemitsu Tanaka, head of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, said Japan must never be allowed to become a perpetrator of nuclear harm and stressed the need to curb any such trend.

The protest comes after an official, who is involved in devising security policy under the government led by Takaichi, told reporters on December 18, "I think we should possess nuclear weapons," inciting backlash from locals, including atomic bomb survivors.

--IANS