China responds to Japanese Defense Minister’s nuclear-related remarks: Urges Japan to abide by the three non-nuclear principles

China News Service, Beijing, September 30 (Reporter Li Jingze) Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun hosted a regular press conference on the 30th.

A reporter asked: According to reports, on the 28th, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that when revising the "Three Security Documents", discussions on the possession of nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines should not be excluded, saying that discussions should be conducted without taboos and preset conclusions. "If discussions are not allowed, it would be somewhat out of touch with my sense of crisis." What is China’s comment on this?

Guo Jiakun: First of all, possessing nuclear weapons is not an issue that Japan wants to discuss. Japan is a non-nuclear-weapon party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Not to accept, not to manufacture, not to possess or non-proliferate nuclear weapons is an obligation under international law that Japan cannot shirk, and there is no room for bargaining. Sanae Takaichi reaffirmed her adherence to the "Three Non-nuclear Principles" in February this year. Japanese representatives who attended the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in May repeatedly confirmed that they would not change their position on the "Three Non-nuclear Principles", and their words still ring in their ears.

The current head of Japan’s defense department made wild remarks about “discussing nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines without taboos.” This is a serious provocation and blatant violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the post-World War II international order. It is a serious departure from the “Three Non-nuclear Principles” that Japan claims to pursue, and once again exposes Japan’s right-wing forces’ attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. In recent years, Japan has continuously accelerated the process of "remilitarization", attempted to abandon the "three non-nuclear principles", strengthened the so-called "extended deterrence" arrangement, sought to deploy nuclear weapons in Japan, attempted to achieve gradual nuclear deregulation, and constantly challenged the bottom line of the international community.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trial. History has not and will never forget the profound disasters that Japanese militarism brought to the people of Asia and the world. Japan's right-wing forces continue to challenge the post-World War II international order and the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and are going further and further down the wrong path. The international community should urge Japan to abide by the "Three Non-nuclear Principles", strictly fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, completely abandon its attempts to "remilitarize" and acquire nuclear weapons, and effectively respond to the serious concerns of the international community.