Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on a July 17 "Genron TV" internet program interview that although discussing nuclear weapons in Japan is "difficult," Japan "must debate and advance all policies without taboo," The Asahi Shimbun reported on July 20. He added that, as with France and Finland reconsidering the place of nuclear weapons amid the Ukraine war, Japan must likewise reconsider these concepts.

This debate comes as the Japanese government under Takaichi is due to revise three key national security documents by the end of 2026, which would involve a reexamination of Japan's three non-nuclear principles: "not possessing, not producing, and not permitting the entry of" nuclear weapons. Since November 2025, China has announced multiple economic restrictions on Tokyo in what it calls retaliation for Japan's "remilitarization."