Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan last month. | REUTERS
Jul 19, 2026
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has urged Japan to more openly debate nuclear weapons’ role in the country’s defense, a rare instance of a sitting Cabinet member broaching the highly contentious issue.
“While this is a difficult issue for Japan to discuss, one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons,” Koizumi said during an online news program recorded Friday ahead of a trip to Europe.
Koizumi’s remarks come as the government weighs updates to key documents outlining Japan’s security policy — including a possible revision of the country’s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons.
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