Finland's lifting of nuclear arms ban maximizes deterrence: ambassador

TOKYO - Finland's recent lifting of its longstanding ban on allowing nuclear arms into the country is intended to maximize its deterrence and does not automatically mean such weapons will enter its territory, the Finnish ambassador to Japan said in a recent interview.

The legal change, which took effect July 1 and allows Finland to receive, transport or import nuclear arms, will "remove all the legal barriers to enable Finland to defend our homeland, (and) also make sure that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization can fully utilize the deterrence," Tanja Jaaskelainen told Kyodo News in Tokyo on Wednesday.