By Lyu Chao

On August 9, Nagasaki, Japan, held a ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. However, her remarks echoed the ambiguous wording she used at the Hiroshima memorial ceremony on August 6—mentioning only that "Japan currently adheres to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles," without explicitly stating that Japan would continue to uphold them. Given the Takaichi administration's current moves to breach the limits of the country's postwar peace framework and accelerate the loosening of Japan's nuclear restraints, her verbal commitment to "achieving a world without nuclear weapons" appears highly ironic.

This year's two atomic bombing anniversary ceremonies have drawn significant international attention. The Japanese government continued last year's practice of extending invitations on a broad basis. As a result, representatives from more than 120 countries and regions attended the Hiroshima memorial ceremony, while representatives from over 90 countries and regions attended the Nagasaki memorial ceremony. The international community followed the events closely not only because this marked Takaichi's first attendance since becoming prime minister, but more importantly because it wanted to see whether the only country to have suffered atomic bombings would change its nuclear policy. Of particular concern is that the Takaichi administration is seeking to revise the three national security documents and alter the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi recently spoke of discussing nuclear weapons "without taboos". The Takaichi administration has also pushed for the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, saying that "no options are being ruled out" for the propulsion system of next-generation submarines.

Takaichi's ambiguous remarks are an open betrayal of the spirit of peace. Atomic bombing anniversary ceremonies should serve as important occasions for Japan to reaffirm its non-nuclear stance. In recent years, however, these ceremonies have increasingly departed from their original purpose. In 2015, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to mention the Three Non-Nuclear Principles in his speech at the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings. Although Takaichi, who claims to be Abe's political heir, reiterated the Three Non-Nuclear Principles as usual, she continued to emphasize Japan's status as a victim, making no mention throughout her speech of the country that dropped the atomic bombs or the reasons why they were dropped. It is well known that the Takaichi administration is currently in talks with that country over the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines. This inevitably raises the question of whether Takaichi's reference to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles was merely a delaying tactic.

In recent years, Japanese right-wing forces have repeatedly exploited the painful history and images of the atomic bombings to stir up a sense of humiliation among the Japanese public over Japan's defeat in World War II and incite hatred toward the victorious powers of World War II. Meanwhile, they have avoided discussing Japan's historical responsibility for launching wars of aggression and turned a blind eye to controversies over the official recognition of some atomic bomb victims.

However, the spirit of peace embodied in the Three Non-Nuclear Principles has not been left for Japanese right-wing forces to redefine, nor have Japan's anti-war groups and people of conscience from various sectors of society remained silent. On August 4, 32 groups, including four organizations representing atomic bomb victims in Nagasaki, protested Koizumi's remarks on nuclear weapons. Their statement recalled the history of Japan losing control and embarking on the path to war, and stressed that "the government should neither revise the three national security documents nor consider revising the Three Non-Nuclear Principles." The mayor of Nagasaki stressed in the Peace Declaration that nuclear weapons are "an absolute evil." Opinion polls conducted by Japan's mainstream media have also shown that an overwhelming majority of the public supports upholding the Three Non-Nuclear Principles.

Eighty-one years after the atomic bombings, we pray for the repose of the victims and urge the Japanese government to deeply reflect on the lessons of war, faithfully fulfill its obligations under international law on nuclear non-proliferation, and refrain from once again placing itself in the dock of history.

(The author is Dean of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University)