Japan Defense Minister Says Nuclear Weapons Must Be Discussed as Security Policy Is Reviewed

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday that nuclear weapons represent a topic Japan cannot avoid discussing, Japan Times reported. He made the statement on an online news program recorded ahead of a trip to Europe. Koizumi’s comments arrive as the government weighs updates to key security policy documents.

Those revisions could include changes to the country’s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons. “While this is a difficult issue for Japan to discuss, one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons,” Koizumi said. The minister attended an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture last month.