China widens attack on Japan nuclear ‘threats’ as ties sour

The Japan Times - China is ramping up objections to what it sees as Japan’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons, despite Tokyo’s long-standing renunciation of such arms, deepening another fissure in the two neighbors’ increasingly tense ties.

In what appears to be a concerted effort, China’s foreign and defense ministries issued statements on Thursday condemning alleged re-militarism efforts by Tokyo. The remarks came as two of the country’s top think tanks jointly issued a 29-page report framing recent actions by "right-wing forces” in Japan as posing a "serious threat” to world peace.

While that report didn’t define "right-wing forces,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry was more explicit. Spokesperson Mao Ning said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other senior officials had revealed their ambitions by seeking to revise the three nonnuclear principles, discussing the potential introduction of nuclear-powered submarines and calling for boosting "extended deterrence.”

"Such moves of the Japanese side form a grave challenge to the international nuclear nonproliferation regime based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the postwar international order, and have been met with strong opposition from the international community and people from various sectors within Japan,” Mao told reporters at a regular press briefing in the Chinese capital.

Takaichi's office wasn’t immediately available to comment on China’s allegations. Asked about China’s claims about Japan’s nuclear ambitions, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday: "I’d like to state that there is absolutely no truth to such claims.”

The three nonnuclear principles refers to Japan’s long-standing commitment to not possess, produce or permit the entry of nuclear weapons. Takaichi has said her government abides by the principles, but hasn’t been clear on whether that commitment will remain unchanged as the government seeks to overhaul its national defense strategy.

Amid growing concerns about Beijing’s own military buildup, and the possibility that China will attack Taiwan, Japan in 2022 launched a five-year, ¥43 trillion ($274 billion) defense buildup aiming to roughly double defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product. Takaichi has accelerated that spending goal to the 2025 fiscal year, while Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has reportedly said the nation needs to discuss whether to develop nuclear-powered submarines.

Ties between Asia’s top economies deteriorated late last year after Takaichi remarked that if military force were used in a Taiwan conflict, it could be a "survival-threatening situation” for her nation. That classification would provide a legal justification for Japan to deploy its military to help defend friendly nations.

China’s Defense Ministry has also accused Japan of "brazenly exporting lethal weaponry” and going against international sentiment by advocating for the possession of nuclear weapons.

Japanese leaders have consistently said the country will not seek atomic weapons. Still, Itsunori Onodera, the ruling party’s head of research on security, has said his nation shouldn’t shy away from discussing nuclear arms, after it was reported another lawmaker expressed a personal opinion in favor of such weaponry.

In their report Nuclear Ambitions of Japan’s Right-Wing Forces: A Serious Threat to World Peace, the two Chinese think tanks — China Arms Control and Disarmament Association and the China Institute of Nuclear Industry Strategy — said Japan had produced and accumulated plutonium "far in excess of the actual requirements of its civilian nuclear program.” The country also has the "operational platforms” capable of delivering nuclear weapons, it added.

It called for Takaichi to "immediately clarify her dangerous nuclear-related remarks,” and to "strictly restrain” Japanese officials from making irresponsible comments. It also demanded that Tokyo "unequivocally reaffirm” its commitment to the three nonnuclear principles, and to restate that position in "all relevant official policy documents.”

The report’s authors also called on Washington to refrain from "acquiescing to Japan’s dangerous discourse,” work to contain Tokyo’s nuclear ambitions, abandon its extended deterrence to Japan and renounce any form of nuclear-sharing arrangements with the Asian nation.

Even as Beijing stepped up its criticism, an opinion survey published on Friday found that China’s military is the biggest security concern for Japanese people. Just over 68% of the more than 1,500 respondents to the government poll picked China as a concern, placing it ahead of North Korea for the first time since 2015.

The survey of views on defense issues was carried out in November and December last year. A record 45% of respondents said the armed forces should be strengthened, but they weren’t asked whether Japan should acquire nuclear weapons.