The Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai began governing-coalition talks on revising the three security documents, with the non-nuclear principles — Japan's pledge not to possess, produce or allow the introduction of nuclear weapons — emerging as a central point of contention.
The three documents include the National Security Strategy. The gap between the two parties is most visible on the question of nuclear weapons, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.
"We must not be pushed aside by Ishin," a participant said at an informal meeting of senior LDP members of its security research committee, held on the 9th, a day before the talks opened.
A founding pledge becomes a negotiating item
The non-nuclear principles have long been treated as a fixed premise of Japanese defense policy. The talks now put the "no introduction" clause — the commitment not to allow nuclear weapons into Japanese territory — on the table alongside the other two.