HONOLULU -- Take a deep breath and repeat: "Japan is not going to develop nuclear weapons." Feel better?
Yes, North Korea's nuclear test is a blow to the regional security order. It is a bitter defeat for diplomacy. And yes, Japanese (and Chinese and Americans and South Koreans and others) are concerned about its implications, but the fear -- the assumption -- that Japan will develop its own nuclear weapons as a consequence is pure fantasy.
Japanese understand that the nuclear option is a last-gasp desperate move that will create more instability and insecurity than it will eliminate. To be sure, North Korea's test complicates Japanese national security planning, compounds popular insecurities, and provides ample fodder for conservatives and nationalists who demand a more robust defense posture. It will certainly be cited by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and others as they campaign to revise Japan's Constitution.
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