in brief
- Marking the 1945 atomic bombing, Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki demanded the abolition of nuclear weapons.
- However, Tokyo's refusal to recommit to its non-nuclear principles signals a potential policy shift.
The Japanese city of Nagasaki has used the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons while criticising countries that use them as a deterrent.
"Nuclear weapons are not a necessary evil but an absolute evil, and can never coexist with humanity," Mayor Shiro Suzuki said in a speech broadcast by Japanese public television channel NHK.
The mayor also asked the Japanese government to maintain the "three non-nuclear principles," adopted as a resolution by the Japanese parliament in 1971 but never incorporated into Japanese law: not to possess, not to produce, and not to allow nuclear weapons to be brought into the country.
At the same ceremony, Japan's new right-wing leader, Sanae Takaichi said her government defended the three principles without clarifying whether the country would continue to respect them in the future.
She said the government would defend realistic and practical measures to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
'New militarism'
The anniversary passes as the Japanese government prepares to review its key national security documents, raising questions about whether the nuclear principles will remain intact.
Questions around Japan's nuclear weapons policy have been raised after Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi recently called for a "taboo-free" national debate on the subject.
The long-standing anti-nuclear stance is increasingly under pressure as East Asian neighbours — notably China — boost their military capabilities, while doubts persist about the reliability of Tokyo's biggest security backer, the United States.
The prime minister has already lifted Japan's self-imposed ban on weapons exports and expanded defence spending, while pushing to amend the constitution.
Those policies have drawn rebukes from China, which accuses Japan of "new militarism" and Takaichi of bending to the whims of the far right.
In December, an unnamed senior administration official told local media in an off-the-record session suggesting that Japan should possess nuclear weapons.
The remark was widely reported by major Japanese outlets including national broadcaster NHK and Asahi Shimbun, sparking public criticism.
"If I look at it cynically, I can't help but think that maybe she really wants to change" Japan's anti-nuclear commitment, 82-year-old Satoshi Tanaka, a campaigner who survived the 1945 attack on Hiroshima, told the Agence-France Presse news agency.
No 'permanent threat'
Sunday's ceremony in Nagasaki included a message from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who made a strong anti-war plea and a case for diplomacy.
"Humanity should not have to live under permanent threat," Guterres said, calling for leadership and political will to reduce risks and move towards nuclear disarmament.
On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a plutonium-fueled atomic bomb nicknamed Fat Man on Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 people instantly.
Three days earlier, the US had dropped a similar bomb called Little Boy on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people.
The bombings prompted Japan to announce its surrender to the allied powers on August 15, before officially signing surrender documents on September 2, ending World War II.
It remains the only time that atomic weapons have been used in warfare.
— With additional reporting from AFP.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
