Can Japan escape from nuclear weapons?

Can Japan escape from nuclear weapons?

2002/07/05On August 6,1945, "a little boy" was dropped from one of the B29 bombers on Hiroshima in Japan. "Little Boy" is the nickname given to the atomic bomb. The little boy killed totally 221,893 people in the city including an estimated 140,000 who died by the end of 1945 as a direct result of the bomb. 57 years after the bomb, the ceremony, commemorating the atomic bomb victims have been held on the day every year, with a solemn vow never to repeat the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to make a New World of peace and humanity, free of nuclear weapons.Last year Mr.Koizumi said in the rite, Japan will continue taking the lead in pushing for global elimination of nuclear arm and Tokyo will urge other countries to promote arms reduction and nuclear non proliferation and will make further efforts to have the comprehensive test ban treaty come in to force.Nevertheless, Koizumi's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda made a reckless remark, hinted at the possibility of Japan going nuclear. He said to beat reporters that Japan's three non-nuclear principles --banning the manufacturing, possession and introduction of nuclear weapons --- may be subject to change. Where does this comment stem from? He told a press conference that his remark was just a legal theory and Tokyo will be keeping commited to non-nuclear policy. Despite of his clarification, his remark provoked public suspicion whether he made his " faux pas" by design? Behind-the-scenes attempts to reverse the non-nuclear policy are underway somewhere within the government and the LDP. Because Koizumi administration is supported by a LDP faction originating from a former alliance of party hawks.It may be theoretically possible for Japan to possess nuclear arms. But is it better for Japan to go nuclear? The merits and demerits of Japan's potential nuclear arms capability are unknown. Of more than 180 countries in the world, nuclear powers are a minority. What would Japan gain by acquiring nuclear arms and joining the minority?Some military instability in South Asia such as China's growing military power, The balistic missile test in Nihon Sea by North Korea and the india-pakistan nuclear tests left the Japanese people faced with the need to re-examine Japan's traditional nuclear principles and reliance on the US nuclear umbrella.North Korea is a rogue country with growing missile capabilities and nuclear ambiguity. Pyongyang's test of a nuclear-capable three-stage missile over Japan in August 1998 means that every part of Japan is exposed to missiles and nuclear attacks from North Korea.China, supplier of missiles and other technology to North Korea, seeks strategic dominance over East Asia and rattles its nuclear and missile arsenal at Taiwan. Yet China insists that Japan must remain non-nuclear and must not participate in developing non-nuclear missile defence to protect itself and US forces in Japan. To our disappointing, Japan cannot escape from nuclear weapons.In addition, in spite of its declaration at three non-nuclear principles, Japan has continued to turn a blind eye when nuclear-capable US worships enter its ports. In facts, various testimonies and confidential documents indicate that nuclear weapons have been brought into Japan in the past, though the government has denied all such allegations. In its dependence on an alliance critically reliant on US nuclear weapons, it couldn't have been otherwise.I suggest that Japan should modify its non-nuclear principles by removing the phrase "not allowing nuclear arms into Japan". If Japan seeks to maintain the principles of not possesing and not manufacturing nuclear arms and adapt to the realities of depending on the US nuclear umbrella for national security, the only choice would be to modify the one of the three principles. Although this position may be hard to accept for those who uphold all these non-nuclear principles as dogma.Eitherway, it is better for Japan to continue to rely on the US extented deterrance, which provided nuclear protection in ways that don't alarm Japan's neighbors.