Nagasaki on Sunday (August 9, 2026) marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern city, as the Mayor called nuclear weapons “absolute evil”, denounced growing support for nuclear deterrence and called on the Japanese Government to adhere to its three post-war non-nuclear principles.
Political Context
The anniversary coincided with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government revising the country’s defence policy to further bolster the military’s offensive capability. Speculation has risen about whether Ms. Takaichi, who supports nuclear dissuasion, may allow nuclear weapons to be brought into the country, going against the third non-nuclear principle. “The theory of nuclear deterrence is extremely dangerous and fragile. Nuclear weapons are ‘not a necessary evil but an absolute evil,’ and can never coexist with humanity,” Mr. Mr. Suzuki singled out the Japanese government, demanding it uphold Japan’s war-renouncing Constitution, attend the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons review conference later this year and stick to the three non-nuclear principles. As she did in Hiroshima, Takaichi remained ambiguous about the three non-nuclear principles and only reiterated that Japan currently maintains the policy.
Mayor Shiro Suzuki said that while some countries argue the possession of nuclear weapons helps deter potential attackers, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had demonstrated that humans can cross the line. Suzuki said. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during the 81st anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, at Nagasaki Peace Park in southwestern Japan, on August 9, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters The Prime Minister, who attended Sunday’s ceremony, reiterated her policy of taking “a realistic and pragmatic approach” toward achieving a world without nuclear weapons. She later told reporters that Japan’s policy is to work within the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and that her government will decide what to do with the treaty based on what’s most effective to ensure the country’s national security and push forward nuclear disarmament.
