BEIJING: Two Chinese think tanks on Thursday jointly released a research report on Japan’s nuclear capabilities amid Japanese right-wing forces’ expanding of nuclear ambitions, warning that Japan has the capabilities to develop nuclear weapons within a relatively short timeframe, calling on the international community to be on high alert to thwart any dangerous attempt to revive Japanese militarism and to jointly safeguard the postwar international order and the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on Thursday that the report exposes the nuclear ambitions of Japanese right-wing forces, detailing dangerous facts such as Japan’s secret development of nuclear weapons, long-term stockpiling of large quantities of sensitive nuclear materials, and its potential to develop nuclear capabilities.
It provides an in-depth analysis of the negative impact of the nuclear-related rhetoric and actions of the Japanese right wing on international peace and security. The report also offers a series of recommendations to mitigate the adverse effects of Japan’s words and deeds and issues a call to oppose Japan’s pursuit of nuclear weapons in order to safeguard world peace, Mao said.
The research report, released by the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA) and the China Institute of Nuclear Industry Strategy (CINIS), said that Japan’s right-wing forces have in recent years repeatedly sought to break through the three non-nuclear principles long upheld by successive Japanese governments, with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi making ambiguous statements about these principles, even hinting at the possibility of abandoning them. The research report also noted that the Japanese side has also stated that the option of introducing nuclear-powered submarines should not be ruled out, while a senior official from the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office brazenly claimed that Japan should possess nuclear weapons.
The expanding nuclear ambitions of Japan’s right-wing forces constitute a dangerous signal of the revival of Japanese militarism, posing a serious threat to global peace, the two Chinese think tanks said in the research report.
According to the research report, during World War II, Japan secretly engaged in nuclear weapons research and development. Today, Japan has established a complete nuclear fuel cycle and possesses relatively advanced nuclear industrial capabilities, enabling it to produce weapons-grade plutonium through reactor and spent fuel reprocessing technologies and facilities.
Japan has produced and accumulated plutonium far in excess of the actual requirements of its civilian nuclear energy program, resulting in a long-standing and severe imbalance between the supply and demand of sensitive nuclear materials, the two Chinese think tanks said in their research report, warning that Japan is assessed to possess both the technical and the economic capabilities to develop nuclear weapons within a relatively short timeframe. The research report noted that Japan also possesses operational platforms capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as technical foundations for the development of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.
Dai Huaicheng, Secretary-General of CACDA, told the Global Times at a release event of the research report on Thursday that data shows that as of the end of 2024, Japan achieved a total of approximately 44.4 tons of separated plutonium both domestically and overseas. Given Japan’s nuclear weapons research and development efforts in World War II and its current nuclear industrial capabilities, it is capable of producing weapons-grade nuclear materials.
In addition, Japan has operational platforms to deliver nuclear weapons, such as its F-35 fighter aircraft and Aegis destroyers, Dai said. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
