76% in Japan back non-nuclear principles: Poll
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- Kyodo News poll of 3,000 adults aged 18+, conducted June–July and reported by Tokyo Shimbun on Aug. 2, found 76% support for maintaining the three non-nuclear principles of not producing, possessing, or allowing nuclear weapons in Japan.
- 77% of respondents opposed nuclear sharing arrangements that would station US nuclear weapons in Japan for joint operation, with the figure underscoring sustained anti-nuclear sentiment as the only atomic-bombed nation.
- 55% backed Japan joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons ahead of its first review conference in November, down five percentage points from a year earlier; 42% opposed, with 56% of opponents saying the treaty would not achieve nuclear abolition.
- A combined 90% opposed recent US military action against Iran and Venezuela, with 44% saying Tokyo should have expressed concern over the US attack on Iran and 34% calling the government's non-critical response appropriate.
- 86% viewed Japan as a peaceful nation, while 63% saw a strong or moderate possibility of nuclear weapons being used in war within 10 years (down nine points from 2024) and 33% saw the same possibility for Japan itself.
- On the government's April decision to lift the ban on lethal weapons exports, a combined 53% said the ban should be maintained or the policy reconsidered, while 36% said exports should be limited to nonlethal equipment even to allies.
Why it matters: The poll exposes a sharp gap between public opinion and the government's recent defense-policy trajectory: 76% still back the non-nuclear principles even as Tokyo debates revising them, and 53% want to maintain or reconsider the weapons-export ban the government lifted in April, putting the ruling coalition on notice that its security pivot is out of step with voters.
