On 80th Anniv. of Hiroshima Bombing, Japan Reaffirms Anti-Nuclear Pledge

On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed Japan’s longstanding non-nuclear principles, pledging that the country will neither possess, produce, nor allow the deployment of nuclear weapons on its soil.

Speaking at a press conference following a memorial ceremony held earlier in Hiroshima, Ishiba firmly rejected proposals for Japan to enter a nuclear-sharing agreement with the United States similar to those seen in NATO countries.

“The government is fully committed to Japan’s three non-nuclear principles, and we have no intention of revising them,” Ishiba stated, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.

While emphasizing Japan’s continued reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, Ishiba, a former defense minister, stressed that enhancing deterrence with the U.S. does not contradict Japan’s goal of achieving a nuclear-free world.

A Tragic Memory That Shapes Policy

The ceremony marks 80 years since the U.S. bomber "Enola Gay" dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II. The uranium bomb killed an estimated 140,000 people by the end of that year, leaving a lasting imprint on Japan’s national consciousness and foreign policy.

Japan remains the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack in war, and the tragedy continues to define its pacifist stance and nuclear disarmament advocacy on the global stage.