The only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack is now talking about developing an arsenal of its own. On September 5, former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said Japan should consider developing nuclear weapons.

In light of Japan’s war history, the development of nuclear weapons had long been too sensitive to discuss in Japanese politics. Increasingly, however, that is no longer the case. For example, the conservative Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has maintained in recent years that Japan has the right to possess nuclear weapons and should develop them. It just so happens that Abe is heavily favored to become Japan’s next prime minister.

Now, with North Korea’s latest missile tests, nuclear arms have become the subject of even more serious and open discussion in Japan. The New York Times describes this debate as an illustration of how the Japanese are coming to terms with their desire to become a “‘normal nation,’ one armed and able to fight wars.”

Talk of Japanese nuclear armament does not bode well for the United States. Japan has been America’s staunchest ally in the Asian theater. One reason is the U.S.-Japan ampo treaty that ensures Japanese safety under American protection. Japan’s increased interest in providing its own security is a warning sign of a weakened U.S.-Japan relationship. Nakasone last week “urged the Japanese to seriously discuss whether to go nuclear, taking into account the possibility that Japan could one day no longer depend on the nuclear umbrella provided by the United States under the bilateral security pact” (Jiji Press, September 5).

North Korea’s antics are giving some high-level Japanese officials just the rationale they need in order to pursue a policy that would enable Japan to stand on its own, and to distance itself from the U.S. If Japan feels it cannot rely on the United States for security, it will have to take matters into its own hands—for example, a nuclear deterrent. This prospect aligns well with Shinzo Abe’s support of repealing or loosely interpreting Article Nine, the constitutional article that forfeits Japan’s right to make war. His “preemptive strike” rhetoric regarding North Korea broke down some longstanding barriers in Japanese thinking.

Given the political go-ahead, Japan could become a nuclear-armed nation almost overnight. Because of its dearth of natural resources, Japan has long relied on nuclear power. With the plutonium from its reactors, Japan could easily manufacture thousands of nuclear weapons. Add to that the fact that Japan already produces machinery to manufacture centrifuges and other highly precise instruments that are used in making nuclear warheads, and Japan’s timetable for producing a nuclear weapon shrinks to weeks—or less, according to Abe.

Why is this important? Thetrumpet.com has long tracked mounting evidence of a developing powerful alliance among Russia, China, Japan and other Asian powers. Japan’s industrialization and economy put it in good stead to contribute mightily to such a force. With Shinzo Abe almost assured to take on Japan’s prime ministership following September 20 elections, the current nuclear weapons discussions at such high levels mark a trend for Japan to return to a militarily prominent global position.