Japan's changing nuclear policy raises concerns over regional stability, says Russian FM

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that Moscow is closely following the naval activity of Tokyo near Russia's borders and raising a warning flag for a possible adjustment in the status of Japan as non-nuclear.

Zakharova said that Japan is going to undermine its non-nuclear status by participating in US nuclear missions, holding multilateral exercises with strategic aircraft for nuclear missions, and planning to allow US medium-range missiles onto Japanese soil. All of these developments "are sounding particularly alarming," she said during a weekly briefing on Wednesday.

She said that Moscow is closely following Tokyo's amplified naval presence next to the Far Eastern borders of Russia, particularly including NATO members not from the region, a Xinhua news agency report cited her as saying.

Risks of Japan's policy to regional stability and security are far from hypothetical, Zakharova said.

This comes in response to the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, a regular drill between South Korea, the United States, and Japan that will be conducted this summer. The exercise began on Monday and will run until 29 August, featuring field maneuvers, computer-simulated command post exercises, and civil defense drills.

In the exercise lasting 11 days, combined forces would extend field training and live-fire drills in various domains to enhance interoperability and demonstrate their combined capabilities, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The drill also aimed to develop deterrence and repelling capabilities and strategies against weapons of mass destruction, added the JCS.