WASHINGTON -- Speculation is rife about whether North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons could drive Japan to develop a nuclear arsenal. Some opinion leaders have even suggested that America should exploit this prospect to scare China into resolving the North Korea nuclear crisis. However, the reality is that Japan will not go nuclear anytime soon -- even with a nuclear North Korea in the region -- because it is simply not in its own national interests to do so.
Statements by several high-profile Japanese political figures in 2002 about Japan's ability to go nuclear drew widespread attention as possible indicators that Japan was actively considering a nuclear option. That is a misreading.
Rather than reflecting any heated debate among policymakers in Japan, they represent isolated comments about the capability, or legality -- not intention -- to respond to future regional security threats.