July 15, 2009

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura Takeo said that the government will not change its standing claim in the Diet that “no secret agreement exists between Japan and the United States regarding the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan.”

Kawamura made the remark at a news conference on July 14 in response to House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Kono Taro’s request that the government amend its stance on this issue based on an interview with former Vice Foreign Minister Murata Ryohei.

Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi on the same day criticized Kono for meeting former vice foreign minister Murata Ryohei and demanding a change in the government position in the Diet on the basis of his personal judgment.
- Akahata, July 15, 2009