A politician who claimed that “nuclear weapons are the cheapest way to ensure national security” has just been elected. In fact, there’s a surprisingly large number of people in Japan who believe we should either arm ourselves with nuclear weapons or at least start debating the possibility. Frankly, I find this deeply troubling. Of course, it’s only natural to worry about national security as international tensions rise, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with holding open discussions. But at the very least, shouldn’t everyone be equipped with the basic knowledge of the NPT—the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty—that we all learned in civics class?
Japan is a signatory to the NPT. This means we are legally prohibited from possessing nuclear weapons.
Article II
Each non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to receive the transfer from any transferor whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly; not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and not to seek or receive any assistance in the manufacture of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
Article IX (3)
For the purposes of this Treaty, a nuclear-weapon State is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967.
In other words, under the NPT, only five countries are permitted to possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China.
If Japan were ever to acquire nuclear weapons, it would have to withdraw from the NPT.
What would happen if Japan were to leave the NPT? We would almost certainly face severe backlash from the international community. There’s even a possibility that Japan could be attacked, just as the U.S. recently struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. And let’s not forget: Japan is a resource-poor country. We can’t even feed ourselves without imports. If those imports were cut off, our economy and society would grind to a halt. It would be a return to the days of the ABCD line that strangled Japan before WWII.
So when someone claims that nuclear weapons are the “cheapest” form of deterrence for Japan, I honestly can’t understand what part of this scenario looks “cheap” to them.
By the way, my elementary school’s class trip destination was Hiroshima. We visited the famous torii gate at Miyajima, bought souvenirs, and toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum was packed with schoolchildren on field trips, as well as ordinary visitors. Every exhibit was so shocking, so harrowing, that it was hard to look at them directly. As I moved through the crowd, letting myself be carried along almost passively, there came a moment when, all of a sudden, there was no one in front of me. On the floor at my feet, someone had vomited. Honestly, if I had really allowed myself to confront the reality shown in those displays, I think I would have been overwhelmed in the very same way.
