Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Following its modest election success in Japan’s Upper House election, far-right party Sanseito has come under fire for suggesting that Japan should build its own nuclear bomb, local media reported.

 Newly elected member of parliament Saya was reported to have advocated for Japan to acquire nuclear weapons, stating, “Nuclear armaments is the cheapest option.”

 Three organizations, including the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), which won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, issued a joint statement marking the upcoming 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings– August 6 for Hiroshima and August 9 for Nagasaki.

 Nihon Hidankyo co-chair TANAKA Terumi, 93, criticized Saya’s statement: “It’s shameful for Japanese politicians to discuss nuclear weapons on the premise of using them.”

 YASUI Masakazu, secretary-general of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo), called Saya’s comment “a dangerous trend,” adding, “Could she say the same thing in front of atomic bomb survivors? What happens if even one atomic bomb is used? That is what survivors have risked their lives to warn people about.”

 TANI Masashi, secretary-general of the Japan Congress against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikin), commented: “These are things that should not be said lightly. I feel a sense of crisis that the barriers to nuclear weapons are being lowered, including in the international community.”

 Tanaka, who was exposed to atomic bomb radiation at age 13 at his home about 3.2 kilometers from the hypocenter in Nagasaki and lost five relatives, stated, “Hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) have always said nuclear weapons must never be used. All politicians should eliminate any thinking that presupposes using nuclear power as a weapon.”

 The Sanseito policy states, “To protect Japan, which is surrounded by nuclear-armed countries, and in light of the harsh realities of the international community, we set nuclear abolition as a long-term goal, but for now, to protect Japan, we must possess deterrence that prevents nuclear-armed countries from using nuclear weapons.”