Releasing Japan from the constraints of the post-war order and re-achieving military expansion is no longer sufficient for the ambitions of Japanese right-wingers. Now, they are preparing to take a dangerous step toward nuclear armament.

On the 19th, Reuters cited interviews with more than a dozen current or former Japanese officials, legislators, and Self-Defense Forces officers, as well as public opinion surveys, claiming that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and civil society in Japan are increasingly inclined to abandon the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" of 1967, and reconsider their stance on nuclear weapons.

Reuters Report

In short, this long article by Reuters roughly conveys the following idea: due to the uncertainty brought by Trump's "America First" policy, and concerns about so-called "China's nuclear arsenal expansion," Japan has less confidence in the U.S. "Extended Deterrence" commitment.

Therefore, some LDP legislators have advocated reinterpreting or amending the Three Non-Nuclear Principles proposed by Japan in 1967, exploring the possibility of developing nuclear weapons independently or allowing the deployment of American nuclear weapons in Japan, achieving "nuclear sharing" with the United States.

The Japanese civilian population also holds similar views. A survey conducted in March this year showed that 41% of Japanese people support revising the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles", while this proportion was only 20% three years ago — Reuters pointed out that even residents of Hiroshima are now inclined to allow the deployment of American nuclear weapons in Japan. "As the memory of the atomic bomb explosion fades, the perception of the younger generation in Japan towards nuclear weapons is changing."

The fear of the Hiroshima atomic bombing is being forgotten by Japanese youth, which is the result of the Japanese government's long-term glorification and historical revisionism.

The report said that in recent years, during closed-door consultations between the US and Japan on "extended deterrence", Japan has taken a tougher stance on purchasing long-range missiles, coordinating support for US nuclear missions, and intelligence sharing.

For example, in July this year, Kyodo News reported that during last year's Taiwan Strait war game, the Japanese representative repeatedly requested the US to implement "nuclear deterrence" and "nuclear strike" against China, citing the possibility of Chinese use of nuclear weapons, and received approval from the US representative.

It should be said that Japan's desire to possess nuclear weapons is not surprising.

As early as during World War II, Japan had proposed the development of nuclear weapons. Although the Japanese government established the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" after the war, the political elite did not completely give up on the desire and discussion of nuclear weapons, and under the support of the United States, began to restart nuclear research under the name of "peaceful use".

Former Japanese Prime Ministers such as Sato Eisaku and Nakasone Yasuhiro openly stated that "if other countries have nuclear weapons, it is common sense for Japan to have them", and "having nuclear weapons is merely a matter of political will, and there is no technical obstacle".

Japan transports nuclear waste

As early as the 1970s, the United States found that Japan had the capability to extract weapon-grade plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. According to Reuters, Japan's stockpile of 47 tons of separated plutonium is enough to make hundreds of nuclear warheads, reaching the standard of a "threshold nuclear weapons state".

In the end, Japan's ambition to possess nuclear weapons is essentially the result of the deliberate indulgence of the United States and the incomplete reckoning of Japanese militarism: on one hand, the Japanese right-wing is worried about being held accountable again by Asian countries like China for its wartime crimes, and on the other hand, they attribute their defeat to the so-called "non-nuclear status", binding the possession of nuclear weapons with the "normalization" of the Japanese nation.

At the same time, as the U.S. power projection in the Western Pacific is gradually declining, the proliferation of nuclear weapons has become one of the available options for the U.S. to maintain its hegemony, such as the Australia "AUKUS" nuclear submarine plan promoted by the Biden administration.

Certainly, Japan can also "possess" nuclear weapons in another way, just like the two atomic bombs dropped by the United States 80 years ago.

Although this plan was put on hold by the Trump administration after Biden left office, everyone knows who Trump is. As long as he can make money, Trump is willing to exchange any long-term strategic interests for profit.

This logic also applies to Japan. The current movement of Japanese right-wingers seeking nuclear arms or introducing American nuclear weapons is an extremely dangerous and irresponsible proposition. It is rooted in the forgetting of historical lessons and the wrong concept of seeking security through military superiority. It seriously violates Japan's international obligations and peace commitments, ultimately leading Japan into a more dangerous situation.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540574662909182502/

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