Japan's defense ministry rules out US nuclear weapons

Nobuo Kishi. File photoTOKYO, Mar 1Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi dismissed the possibility of US nuclear weapons being deployed on the country's territory after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged not to avoid discussing a system similar to NATO's joint nuclear missions. «If such a system implies that US nuclear weapons will stationed on our territory even in peacetime, and can be installed on our fighters in case of unforeseen circumstances, this will never be allowed. There is no change in our position in adherence to the three non-nuclear principles,» the minister emphasized during the debate in the budget commission. Lavrov reproached the United States for deploying nuclear weapons in Europe Over the weekend, Abe expressed the opinion on Fuji TV that Tokyo should not «impose a taboo on discussing the reality of how peace is protected,» and cited NATO's joint nuclear missions as an example, when in a number of «European NATO member countries, including Germany and Italy, deployed nuclear weapons» US. At the same time, the former prime minister emphasized that Japan is a country that has suffered from atomic bombings, therefore, «it is necessary to adhere to the goal of the complete destruction of nuclear weapons and move towards it.» The so-called «nuclear sharing» principle mentioned by Abe is a strategy for sharing the NATO nuclear arsenal by states -members.Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles Policy implies refusing to possess, produce or import into Japan nuclear weapons.The United States did not respond to the proposal on nuclear weapons abroad