The ongoing debate in Japan on nuclear arms lacks sophistication. On May 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said if the international situation were to change, public opinion might favor a nuclear-armed Japan. He was commenting on the government's long-standing three nonnuclear principles of not possessing, manufacturing or allowing the entry of nuclear arms. The remarks touched off controversy at home and abroad.
Fukuda's remarks followed Liberal Party chief Ichiro Ozawa's statement during a lecture April 6 that Japan could easily build nuclear warheads.
Criticizing China for its continuing military buildup, Ozawa said: "Japanese nuclear power plants have enough plutonium for production of thousands of nuclear warheads. We could have better military equipment than China, if we really got serious."