TOKYO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office in October last year, at least 128 local assemblies from 36 prefectures across Japan have submitted written opinions to the Diet, Japan's parliament, urging the government to uphold the country's Three Non-Nuclear Principles, local media reported Wednesday.
The figure marks a record high for statements calling for the Three Non-Nuclear Principles to be maintained since the Diet began accepting written opinions from local assemblies in July 2000, according to Tokyo Shimbun.
The report said that as the Takaichi government plans to revise Japan's three key security documents by the end of this year, whether the Three Non-Nuclear Principles will be changed has drawn attention.
The prefectural assemblies of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the city assembly of Hiroshima have previously unanimously adopted statements urging the principles to be adhered to. Local assemblies in Hakodate City and Shinhidaka Town in Hokkaido have called for the principles to be enshrined in law.
The report also noted that as the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings, Japan has long regarded the Three Non-Nuclear Principles as a key pillar of its pacifist identity.
Michiru Nishida, a professor at Nagasaki University, said that compared with previous governments, the Takaichi administration's stance on upholding the principles is not sufficiently clear.
Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which prohibit possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory, were formally adopted by the Japanese parliament in 1971 and have since become the cornerstone of the country's nuclear policy.
Local media previously reported that the Takaichi government was considering revising the principle prohibiting the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan. The reported move has sparked widespread concern among various sectors of Japanese society. ■
