The Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party began ruling-party talks on revising the three defense documents by the end of the year, with a review of the non-nuclear principles among the likely focal points.
The talks are also expected to cover studying the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines and increasing defense spending. Economic security, which ties defense to the economy and society, will be on the agenda as well.
That topic sits within Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's long-held push for "national strength."
Who sat in
Yasukazu Hamada, who chairs the LDP's security research committee, took part, as did former foreign minister Seiji Maehara, who chairs the Innovation Party's security committee. Senior officials from the National Security Secretariat and other relevant ministries and agencies attended.
The meeting ran for about an hour behind closed doors in the Diet. "We want to discuss matters carefully and work steadily toward revising the documents for the sake of the country," Hamada told reporters at the start, in remarks he made public.
The non-nuclear principles — Japan's policy of not possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons on its soil — have underpinned the country's defense posture since the 1960s. Any revision would mark the most consequential shift in that posture in a decade.