Could Japan Get a Nuclear Weapon? What To Know

A senior Japanese official’s suggestion that Japan should possess nuclear weapons has reignited debate over whether the country could—or would—break with a decades-old taboo in response to an increasingly tense security environment.

Such a move would mark a dramatic departure for Japan, the world’s only nation to have suffered atomic bombings and a country that, after World War II, adopted a pacifist constitution. For decades, the U.S. has pledged to protect Japan, South Korea, and Australia under its nuclear umbrella.

The statement comes amid heightened tensions with China, which has, since last month, waged a public-relations campaign portraying Japan’s recent actions as a return to pre-World War II militarism. The rhetoric escalated after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that a Chinese blockade of Beijing-claimed Taiwan would justify a joint intervention with U.S. forces.

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