Foreign ministry to aid DPJ's investigation of Japan-U.S. secret agreement on nuclear weapons

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Foreign ministry to aid DPJ's investigation of Japan-U.S. secret agreement on nuclear weapons

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura Takeo reiterated that no secret accord exists between Japan and the United States regarding the entry into Japan of U.S. nuclear weapons.

He made the remark at a news conference on September 1.

He denied the statement of Vice Foreign Minister Yabunaka Mitoji, who said to reporters on August 31 that the ministry will cooperate, upon request, with the Democratic Party-led government if it makes an inquiry into the bilateral deals over the secret agreement.

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Asked if the new Democratic Party-led government will take steps that will free Japan from a U.S. nuclear umbrella, DPJ Secretary General Okada Katsuya answered that there will be no such move in the foreseeable future.

While maintaining that Japan should urge the U.S. government to refrain from launching preemptive strikes with nuclear weapons, he added that this does not necessarily mean rejecting the use of a nuclear deterrent.

- Akahata, September 2, 2009