Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Foreign Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa said Japan “is very concerned” about the possibility of using nuclear arms in the conflict over Ukraine.

“On the part of Japan, regarding Russia’s aggression to Ukraine, the possibility of the usage of nuclear arms is very concerning for us,” minister HAYASHi said at a press conference in reply to a question from Arab News about Japan if Tokyo is taking seriously the possibility of nuclear war and how it would defend itself or try to prevent such scenario.

“When we had the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Germany last week, I raised the issue of Russia’s possible use of nuclear arms and their provocations. We have to call for the non-use of nuclear arms strongly.”

Hayashi was clear that Japan will need to take steps to build up its defenses too.

“Against this backdrop, we have to consider every option, and we are committed to fundamentally enhancing our defensive power,” he said. “The security situation surrounding Japan is becoming more difficult and uncertain. We must boost our defenses and strengthen the Japan-US security alliance.”

On March 21, Russia said it withdrew from negotiations with Japan for a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities in response to sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Japan is damaging Russian interests by taking an “obviously unfriendly” stance toward the country. In addition to exiting the peace talks, Russia decided to end visa-free travel to the northern islands Japan claims Russia occupied at the tail end of World War II.