Japan reaffirms no-nukes pledge after official floats weapons idea

By Tim ‌Kelly and John Geddie

TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Friday after ‍local ‌media reported that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter potential aggressors.

The unnamed official ⁠said Japan needed nuclear weapons because of a worsening ‌security environment but acknowledged that such a move would be politically difficult, public broadcaster NHK and other outlets reported, describing the official as being from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's office. 

At a regular press briefing in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan's nuclear policy ⁠had not changed, but declined to comment on the remarks or to say whether the person would remain in the post amid calls from ​opposition leaders for the official to be removed.

There is a growing political ‌and public willingness in Japan to loosen its three ⁠non-nuclear principles not to possess, develop or allow nuclear weapons into its territory, a Reuters investigation published in August found.

While it remains a highly sensitive subject in the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, doubts over ​the reliability of U.S. security guarantees under President Donald Trump and growing threats from nuclear-armed neighbours China, Russia and North Korea have re-ignited the debate.

Some lawmakers within Takaichi's ruling party have said the United States should be allowed to bring nuclear weapons into Japan on submarines or other platforms to reinforce deterrence.

Takaichi last month stirred debate on ​her own ‍stance by declining to say whether ​there would be any changes to the three principles when her administration formulates a new defence strategy next year. 

"Putting these trial balloons out creates an opportunity to start to build consensus around the direction to move on changes in security policy," said Stephen Nagy, a politics professor at the International Christian University in Tokyo. 

Beijing's assertiveness and growing missile cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang are "creating the momentum to really change Japan's thinking about security," he added.

Taro Kono, a senior ruling ⁠party lawmaker and former defence and foreign minister, said on Friday that Japan should not shy away from a broader debate on the pros and cons of acquiring ​nuclear weapons.

Discussions about acquiring or hosting nuclear weapons have long been taboo due to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two and the country's pacifist constitution adopted after its defeat.

Such discussions also risk drawing ire from neighbouring countries like China. 

Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have soured ‌since Takaichi last month said a Chinese attack on Taiwan that also threatened Japan could trigger a military response. China claims the democratically-governed island.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly, John Geddie and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Raju Gopalakrishnan)