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By Micah McCartney
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China's Foreign Ministry has fired a warning shot after a senior Japanese official suggested Tokyo should reconsider its nearly eight-decade ban on nuclear weapons in light of the worsening regional security environment.
Why It Matters
The remark comes amid tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Takaichi's November 7 remarks that a military blockade around China-claimed Taiwan would constitute a "survival threatening situation" for Japan, a rare exception under that country's pacifist constitution that could allow for a military intervention alongside allied U.S. forces.
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China has responded with a sustained public relations campaign portraying Japan as a revanchist power—citing the country's recent increases in defense spending and plans to deploy missiles on a remote island near Beijing-claimed Taiwan. Tokyo's Defense Ministry this year described China’s military buildup and expansive moves in the region as Japan's greatest security challenge.
Newsweek reached out to the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department by email with a request for comment outside of office hours.
What To Know
Guo warned that Japan has "for a long time" been stockpiling plutonium in amounts exceeding its civilian energy needs, and noted that the country possesses the technological capability to develop nuclear weapons "in short order" if it chose to do so. "If Japan dares to pitch itself against the rest of the world, we will never allow it to test the bottom line and international justice," he said.
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A senior Cabinet official advising Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on national security told reporters on Thursday that it was time to begin discussions on acquiring a nuclear deterrent, citing China's rapid nuclear buildup, North Korea’s advancing missile and weapons programs, and the strategic threat from a nuclear-armed Russia, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
Still, the official acknowledged that such a move would face major challenges, particularly Japan’s status as a signatory to the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which recognizes only five nuclear-armed states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China and France. The official also noted that there are no current discussions within the Takaichi government to revise Japan’s non-nuclear policy.
Japan’s long-standing Three Non-Nuclear Principles—which prohibit the possession, production and introduction of nuclear weapons—remain also pose a major hurdle.
What People Are Saying
Minoru Kihara, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, told reporters on Friday that Japan was “upholding the three nonnuclear principles” and would “continue advancing its efforts toward realizing a world without nuclear weapons."
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told The Japan Times on Saturday: “Japan is a global leader and a valuable partner to the United States on nuclear nonproliferation and advancing nuclear arms control. As the National Security Strategy makes clear, the United States will maintain the world’s most robust, credible, and modern nuclear deterrent to protect America and our allies, including Japan.”
What Happens Next
Despite longstanding opposition in Japan, the only country in history to suffer nuclear attacks, some lawmakers within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have called for the Three Non-Nuclear Principles to be revisited to allow the U.S. to deploy nuclear weapons on strategic platforms, such as its Ohio-class submarines, within Japanese territory.
Washington has reiterated that Japan, like key non-NATO U.S. allies South Korea and Australia, remain protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
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