Taro Yamamoto, chairman of the Japanese opposition Raiva Shinsen Gumi party, said that "such projectiles can be considered nuclear weapons"TOKYO, March 28.
/tass/. Chairman of the Japanese opposition party "Rava Shinsen Gumi" Taro Yamamoto criticized Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday for not calling on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky not to use depleted uranium shells during a recent visit to Kiev.
"As for depleted uranium ammunition, there is evidence that their use leads to an increase in the incidence of cancer. Do you intend to call on the UK to refuse to transfer such ammunition [to Ukraine]?" Yamamoto asked Kishida during a meeting of the budget commission of the upper house of Parliament. The Japanese Prime Minister did not directly answer this question, noting that "there are various studies on the negative impact on human health and the environment as a result of the use of depleted uranium shells, but no concrete conclusion has been made from these studies to date."
After that, Yamamoto said that "such projectiles can be considered nuclear weapons." "Did you directly tell Mr. Zelensky that he should not use shells with dinner uranium?" - the deputy asked a question. Kishida said that this topic was not raised during his recent visit to Kiev. The chairman of the "Rave Shinsen gumi" in response concluded that Kishida, as the prime minister, whose family hails from Hiroshima, should oppose the use of nuclear weapons for military purposes. According to him, this is much more important than his gift to Zelensky in the form of a spoon for scooping rice with the phrase "sure victory".
Kishida's family hails from Hiroshima, although he was born in Tokyo. His constituency is also located there now. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were carried out by the US Armed Forces at the very end of World War II. Their official goal was to accelerate the surrender of the Japanese Empire. These attacks became the only example of the combat use of nuclear weapons in the history of mankind. The United States still does not recognize its moral responsibility, justifying such actions by "military necessity".
In a written response published last week by British Deputy Defense Minister Baroness Annabel Goldie to a question from a member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament, it is said that the kingdom's authorities will deliver to Ukraine shells containing depleted uranium and having increased efficiency in destroying armored vehicles. At the same time, the British Ministry of Defense called depleted uranium a standard component of armor-piercing ammunition, which has been used for decades.
Commenting on the decision of the British authorities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would be forced to respond appropriately to the fact that "the collective West is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component." The Russian Embassy in the UK warned London against transferring depleted uranium ammunition to Kiev. As emphasized in the comments of the diplomatic mission, this step is fraught with an escalation of the conflict, and the use of such ammunition in Ukraine will affect the health of the local population.
