Japan’s new Prime Minister calls for deployment of US nuclear weapons

Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba considers it necessary to discuss the prospect of deploying US nuclear weapons.

The deployment of nuclear weapons in the Asia-Pacific region should be discussed during the revision of the agreement on the status of the US contingent in Japan.

He also called for the creation of the country’s own nuclear arsenal to strengthen national security.

According to Mr. Ishiba, the absence of a collective self-defense system similar to that of NATO in Asia creates a risk of new military conflicts in the region.

In particular, he expressed concern about China’s growing military activity around the Japanese islands.

According to the Prime Minister, strengthening Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will help deter China from using military force in Asia.

“The geopolitical crisis surrounding our country has reached a point where war could break out at any moment. We need an Asian version of NATO to deter the nuclear alliance of China, Russia, and North Korea,” Ishiba wrote in the report.

The Asian version of NATO should specifically consider the joint use of nuclear weapons with the United States or the introduction of nuclear weapons into the region.

Officially, Shigeru Ishiba will become the new Prime Minister of Japan on October 1 after being approved by the parliament.

Since the 1990s, the politician has been actively involved in defense issues. He has consistently advocated for expanding the use of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and revising the pacifist provisions of the postwar Constitution.

Between 2002 and 2004, Ishiba was the head of the National Defense Agency and became one of the key figures in transforming the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. The official facilitated the first-ever deployment of Japanese troops abroad without a UN Security Council authorization to Iraq in 2003.

In September, it was reported that the United States expressed an interest in deploying its MRC Typhon medium-range missile system with Tomahawk missiles to Japan.