Japan’s nuclear doublethink is getting harder to defend

A Buddhist monk protests against nuclear weapons in front of the memorial dome at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima in May 2023. | REUTERS

Bloomberg

Aug 17, 2026

Japan’s defense posture has long relied on doublethink.

How else can you explain the nation’s ability to simultaneously be devoutly opposed to atomic weapons, while sitting safely underneath the U.S. nuclear umbrella?

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi faced those contradictions head-on recently when he referred to shifting attitudes toward such arms by countries like France and Finland. He told an interviewer that Tokyo must also “discuss all policies, without any taboos.”

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