Sanseito hopeful supports Japan entering nuclear arms race

Asahi Shimbun

18-07-2025

An Upper House election candidate from the rising opposition party Sanseito is championing a nuclear-armed Japan, a provocative idea generally endorsed by the party leader.
Saya, who is running in the Tokyo constituency on the July 20 ballot, was asked about nuclear armament and the Japan-U.S. alliance on an online program Nippon Television Network Corp. distributed on July 3.
'By acquiring nuclear weapons, even North Korea has become able to talk with U.S. President Donald Trump in the international community,' said Saya, who goes by only one name.
'Nuclear armament is one of the most inexpensive and effective measures to ensure safety,' she said after noting that it is her personal view.
Speaking to reporters in Kobe on July 17, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya said Japan should consider arming itself with nuclear weapons.
'I do not think we should immediately possess them,' he said. '(But) we must not shy away from a discussion.'
Japan must first withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty should it decide to go nuclear.
Saya has come under fire on social media not only for her remarks on nuclear armament but also for her pro-conscription comments made in 2023.
'In military service, the educational role played by conscription and what cannot be learned in school education can be taught and experienced,' she said on a YouTube program.
Still, she expressed a negative view of immediately restoring the draft.
Kamiya asked reporters on July 17 why they questioned the comments on conscription that Saya made before joining Sanseito.
The Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik posted a video interview with Saya on social media on July 14. Kamiya demanded a party staff member resign for arbitrarily giving permission for the interview.
Sanseito also apologized for Saya's 'inappropriate' action on the social media account X on July 12 after she replied to and thanked a poster who apparently called on others to vote for her and her party in exchange for food and drink.
The Public Offices Election Law prohibits provision of food and drink to voters in election campaigns, in principle.