hankyoreh

Japan has raised the possibility of arming itself with nuclear weapons. Right-wingers there have periodically talked about the need for nuclear armament as part of an effort to “normalize” the country through amendment of Article 9 to the Peace Constitution which prohibits military activity.
But this is the first time that possibility has been raised in law. We cannot help being astonished by this behavior from a country that still draws concerns and apprehension from its neighbors with its failure to fully atone for its history.
On June 15, the National Diet of Japan added a phrase to the supplementary provisions of its Atomic Energy Commission Establishment Act stating that ensuring safety in the use of nuclear power “contributes to guaranteeing security.” It is the first revision in 34 years to the basic guidelines of the Atomic Energy Basic Act, which has been called the “Nuclear Power Constitution.” What the country has done is open a legal avenue to nuclear armament.
Judging from the lame manner in which Japan crafted the law, it seems fully aware that it is not aboveboard. Not only that, but its content was not even made public until the House of Representatives passed it on June 20. This appears to be some kind of ploy to avoid public opposition and criticism. Still, Japan does show clear signs of intending to become a military power. Similarly insensible is the deletion of a proviso limiting space activity to “peaceful purposes” in a simultaneous amendment of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Act.
Japan does face many hurdles before it can acquire nuclear weapons. It will be hard-pressed to get past its three non-nuclear principles barring the production, possession, or introduction of nuclear weapons, or the Peace Constitution, anti-nuclear sentiment within the country, its alliance with the US, and the concerns of neighbors. But judging from the way it previously broadened the scope of its Self-Defense Force’s activities through amendments of its Vicinity Contingency Law (1999), Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law (2001), and Iraq Reconstruction Law (2003), it is inadvisable to let down our guard.
Japan has led the way over the years in diplomatic efforts to promote peaceful use of nuclear power, emphasizing its status as the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombing. And in recognition of this, it earned special treatment from the international community, becoming the only country without nuclear weapons allowed to operate facilities for reprocessing nuclear fuel. It has also applied intense pressure on North Korea in its own nuclear development program. In that sense, its latest actions are both a repudiation of its own values and a form of international fraud.
Japan needs to understand just how upset its neighbors are with its ahistorical and unreflective stance. Seoul, for its part, should send a clear early warning against these actions that threaten regional peace.
　
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