Nagasaki, Japan - Aug 9, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of protesters
2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yutaka Yonemura, protester; member, Citizens' Congress on Elimination of Nuclear and Hydrogen Weapons:
"The Japanese government has not joined the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. I think the reason is that Japan is protected by the American nuclear umbrella, and that the United States has told Japan not to join such a treaty. That is why Japan has not joined it. But we believe Japan should join that treaty. As the only country to have suffered the use of nuclear weapons in war, Japan should make that message much more strongly to the rest of the world."
3. Various of protesters
4. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yaeko Kawasaki, protester:
"The world has to make sure that something this terrible is never used again. Let Nagasaki be the last. Hiroshima was the first, wasn't it? Nagasaki was the second. It has to end there. There is no tragedy like this. There really isn't. So weapons like that must never be used again."
5. Various of protesters
6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yutaka Yonemura, protester; member, Citizens' Congress on Elimination of Nuclear and Hydrogen Weapons:
"Still, Japan has Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities that suffered atomic bombings, and many atomic-bomb survivors and ordinary citizens strongly oppose nuclear weapons. So I don't think Japan would move in that direction so easily."
7. Various of demonstration
8. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Toshio Kawano, protester (partially overlaid with shot 9):
"I'm worried about Japan right now. I'm afraid Japan could become a country that goes to war again, and that we could repeat the same mistakes. That's because I feel Prime Minister Takaichi has very rapidly begun moving toward making Japan a country capable of going to war." ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
9. People at event marking 81st anniversary of U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
10. Protesters
11. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Takao Nagao, protester; member, Citizens' Congress on Elimination of Nuclear and Hydrogen Weapons:
"Yes, I'm very worried. Well, I think Japan, too, is moving more toward the political right. I’m not saying that everything about that is bad, but I constantly worry that if we keep moving too far in that direction, it could eventually lead to war."
12. Various of protesters

Japan's Nagasaki on Sunday commemorated the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in the closing days of World War II, amid heightened calls for nuclear disarmament against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addressed the event, reiterating the ambiguous remarks she made at Thursday's Hiroshima memorial ceremony that Japan "is upholding" the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. Her wording differed subtly from that of previous prime ministers, stopping short of an explicit pledge that the country will continue to uphold the principles.

Japan's opposition lawmakers had earlier criticized Takaichi's remarks as merely describing the current situation, saying they lacked a clear commitment to maintaining the non-nuclear principles going forward.

Anti-nuclear demonstrators gathered in Nagasaki to press the government to take a stronger stance on nuclear disarmament, including by joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, while accusing the Takaichi government of failing to address their calls for a total ban on nuclear arms.

"The Japanese government has not joined the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. I think the reason is that Japan is protected by the American nuclear umbrella, and that the United States has told Japan not to join such a treaty. That is why Japan has not joined it. But we believe Japan should join that treaty. As the only country to have suffered the use of nuclear weapons in war, Japan should make that message much more strongly to the rest of the world," said Yutaka Yonemura, a member of the local Citizens' Congress on Elimination of Nuclear and Hydrogen Weapons who took part in Sunday's protest.

"The world has to make sure that something this terrible is never used again. Let Nagasaki be the last. Hiroshima was the first, wasn't it? Nagasaki was the second. It has to end there. There is no tragedy like this. There really isn't. So weapons like that must never be used again," said Yaeko Kawasaki, another protester.

Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which prohibit possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory, were formally adopted by the Japanese parliament in 1971 and have since become the cornerstone of the country's nuclear policy.

Japanese media previously reported that the Takaichi administration was considering revising the principle of not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan as part of an overhaul of the country's three key security documents planned for later this year.

In July, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi publicly said at an online program that Japan should discuss nuclear-related policies without taboo. These developments have fueled continued concern across Japanese society.

Yonemura, however, expressed cautious optimism that the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would serve as a powerful check against any such policy reversal.

"Still, Japan has Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities that suffered atomic bombings, and many atomic-bomb survivors and ordinary citizens strongly oppose nuclear weapons. So I don't think Japan would move in that direction so easily," he said.

Beyond the nuclear policy debate, many participants at Sunday's memorial voiced deeper anxieties about the broader trajectory of Japan's security posture under the Takaichi administration. For some, the concern extends beyond weapons policy to a fundamental fear that the country is edging closer to a militaristic future.

"I'm worried about Japan right now. I'm afraid Japan could become a country that goes to war again, and that we could repeat the same mistakes. That's because I feel Prime Minister Takaichi has very rapidly begun moving toward making Japan a country capable of going to war," said Toshio Kawano, another protester.

"Yes, I'm very worried. Well, I think Japan, too, is moving more toward the political right. I’m not saying that everything about that is bad, but I constantly worry that if we keep moving too far in that direction, it could eventually lead to war," said Takao Nagao, who also took part in the protest.

The U.S. dropped a plutonium atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. The attack on the southwestern Japanese city came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and is believed to have killed around 74,000 people in Nagasaki by the end of 1945, while leaving many others suffering from its effects.

日本・長崎県-2026年8月9日（CGTN-中国大陸での使用は不可）
1.デモ行進、抗議者
2.同録（日本語）原水爆禁止県民会議 米村豊会長
「核兵器禁止条約に、日本政府は参加をしていません。なぜかというと、日本はアメリカの核の傘に守られていますから、アメリカからそういう条約に参加するなと言われているのがあるかと思ってますので、日本はその条約に参加していません。ただし、私たちはその条約に参加をして、唯一核兵器扱われた国でありますから、そのことをですね、もっともっと世界に対して訴えるべきだと思ってます」
3.デモ行進、抗議者
4.同録（日本語）抗議者
「こんな恐ろしいあれはね、絶対使わないようにね、世界でね、してもらわんと、もう長崎で終わりにね。広島が一番でしょう、長崎が二番でね。これで終わりにしてもらう。こんな悲劇はないよ、ほんと。もう絶対、そういうのは使わないようにね」
5.抗議者
6.同録（日本語）原水爆禁止県民会議 米村豊会長
「日本は被爆地域の広島、長崎があって、やっぱり被爆者の方、市民の方が多く反対しているので、私はそう簡単にならないと思ってます」
7.デモ行進
8.同録（日本語）抗議者（一部インサート、ショット9）
「日本のこと、今心配しています。それは日本が戦争をする国になるんじゃないかって、同じ過ちを繰り返すんじゃないかと思っています。高市首相が戦争にできる国づくりをすごく性急に始めたように感じるからです」
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
9.平和記念式典
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
10.抗議者
11.同録（日本語）抗議者
「日本でも、どちらかというと、右寄りになってると思ってます。それが、全部が悪いとは言わないですけども、やっぱりそう突き進めば戦争に、起こってしまうという不安は常に感じてます」
12.抗議者

　米国による日本・長崎への原爆投下から81年となった9日、長崎市で平和祈念式典が開かれた。

　高市早苗首相は式典のあいさつで、「非核三原則」について「堅持している」と述べた。その表現は、歴代首相が「非核三原則を維持していく」という趣旨で発言したのとは異なり、先行きの約束を含まず、曖昧なものにとどまった。
　
　これに対し、野党や市民団体からは「高市氏の発言は現状を説明しているに過ぎず、非核三原則を維持するという明確なコミットメントが欠けている」との批判が上がっている。

　式典には核兵器廃絶を求める抗議者も集まり、政府に対し核兵器禁止条約への署名や、非核三原則の明確な維持を強く求めた。

　長崎県内で核兵器廃絶や平和運動に取り組む原水爆禁止県民会議の米村豊会長は、唯一の被爆国として、日本はもっと強いメッセージを世界に発信すべきだと訴えた。

　＜原水爆禁止県民会議 米村豊会長＞
　「核兵器禁止条約に、日本政府は参加をしていません。なぜかというと、日本はアメリカの核の傘に守られていますから、アメリカからそういう条約に参加するなと言われているのがあるかと思ってますので、日本はその条約に参加していません。ただし、私たちはその条約に参加をして、唯一核兵器扱われた国でありますから、そのことをですね、もっともっと世界に対して訴えるべきだと思ってます」

　＜抗議者＞
　「こんな恐ろしいあれはね、絶対使わないようにね、世界でね、してもらわんと、もう長崎で終わりにね。広島が一番でしょう、長崎が二番でね。これで終わりにしてもらう。こんな悲劇はないよ、ほんと。もう絶対、そういうのは使わないようにね」

　非核三原則とは、核兵器を「持たず、作らず、持ち込ませずの三原則を指す。1971年に、非核三原則を「守るべき」とする衆議院決議が採択され、以降、日本の核政策の礎となっている。

　しかし、高市政権が安全保障関連の3文書の年内改定を推進し、そこに盛り込まれた非核三原則の「持ち込ませず」の見直しを検討している。

　そして、7月には、小泉進次郎防衛相が、インターネット番組でタブー視せずに核戦力を巡る議論をすべきだという趣旨の発言もした。

　一連の動きで、市民の間では、軍拡への懸念が広がっている。

　＜原水爆禁止県民会議 米村豊会長＞
　「日本は被爆地域の広島、長崎があって、やっぱり被爆者の方、市民の方が多く反対しているので、私はそう簡単にならないと思ってます」

　式典では、多くの参加者が高市政権の安全保障政策について、日本が軍国主義的な方向へと進んでいるのではないかと深い不安を表明した。

　＜抗議者＞
　「日本のこと、今心配しています。それは日本が戦争をする国になるんじゃないかって、同じ過ちを繰り返すんじゃないかと思っています。高市首相が戦争にできる国づくりをすごく性急に始めたように感じるからです」

　＜抗議者＞
　「日本でも、どちらかというと、右寄りになってると思ってます。それが、全部が悪いとは言わないですけども、やっぱりそう突き進めば戦争に、起こってしまうという不安は常に感じてます」

　米国は1945年8月9日、長崎にプルトニウム原子爆弾を投下した。広島への投下からわずか3日後のことであり、この一撃で1945年末までに約7万4千人の命が奪われた。また、多数の市民が被爆による後遺症に長年苦しむこととなった。