Former Japanese PM Ishiba again criticizes remarks advocating nuclear armament

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has again criticized recent remarks by a senior government official suggesting that Japan should possess nuclear weapons.
Speaking on a program aired Friday night by Japan’s BS11 television, Ishiba said that as the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings, Japan should take a clear stance on preventing nuclear proliferation and should not make statements that undermine that position.
Addressing the issue earlier, Ishiba said that if Japan were to acquire nuclear weapons, it would be forced to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency. He stressed that such a move would render Japan’s nuclear energy policy — which underpins the country’s energy system — untenable, adding that “this would by no means be beneficial for Japan.”