Photo/Illutration Executives of Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Eighty years after the atomic bombings, Japan’s longstanding commitment to the "three non-nuclear principles" is facing renewed scrutiny, sparking anger and concern from hibakusha and officials in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party began discussions on Nov. 20 to revise the nation’s key security documents, including the National Security Strategy.

The revisions are expected to address Japan’s defense spending, with plans to raise expenditures above 2 percent of GDP.

Discussions will also focus on whether to maintain clear mentions of the three non-nuclear principles--not possessing, not producing and not allowing nuclear weapons in Japan.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has previously suggested in her writings that Japan’s reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella makes the principle of prohibiting nuclear weapons on Japanese soil increasingly unrealistic.

That stance has triggered outrage in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where memories of the atomic bombings remain vivid.

Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), which won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, submitted a letter of protest to the Cabinet Office on Nov. 20.

The group reiterated its demand that the three non-nuclear principles be enshrined in law, noting that past governments had dismissed the need for legislation by calling the principles a firmly established national creed.

“If bringing nuclear weapons in Japan is even considered, it will encourage a global arms race,” warned Nihon Hidankyo chairman Toshiyuki Mimaki. “Does Takaichi truly remember what happened 80 years ago?”

Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki stressed that the principles must be upheld.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui added that Japan should focus on diplomacy and building trust rather than heightening tensions by explicitly relying on U.S. nuclear deterrence.

In Nagasaki, Governor Kengo Oishi declared that any change to the principles would be utterly unacceptable for a prefecture that suffered devastation from the 1945 atomic bombing.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki echoed the sentiment, reiterating that the principles are a national creed.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a Nobel Peace Prize-winning nongovernmental organization, issued a statement on Nov. 19 expressing serious concern.

The group warned that with nuclear tensions rising in East Asia and globally, Japan should not weaken its restrictions on nuclear weapons.

(This article was written by Satoshi Juyanagi and Mizuho Morioka.)

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