Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2024 December 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

On day of Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony for A-bomb survivors, Japan and US discuss enhancement of nuclear deterrence

On December 10, the day of the Nobel Peace Prize presentation ceremony for the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), the Japanese and U.S. governments began 3-day talks in Japan regarding the strengthening of nuclear deterrence under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

When this was pointed out by reporters at a press conference on the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa on one hand said that he “congratulates” Nihon Hidankyo for receiving the award, but on the other hand stated, “Deterrence, including the nuclear deterrence capability, remains the basis for ensuring our country’s security.” In so saying, he reiterated that Japan intends to continue depending on U.S. nuclear forces.

The Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue was initiated in 2010 at the request of the Japanese government which was concerned about a “world without nuclear weapons” vision laid out by then U.S. President Barack Obama. In July of this year, the first bilateral ministerial meeting on extended deterrence took place.