Japan currently generates from nuclear reactors up to 30% of all electricity consumed in the country. Many experts have a question: will this state, which in recent decades have declared its peace-loving policy, pose a potential threat from the point of view of creating a military nuclear potential?
Japan's nuclear program
Japan's nuclear program began during the Second World War. Around the same years, a similar program was developed by the Nazis in Germany. Researchers believe that Japanese developments in those years did not advance beyond laboratory research.
Japan's current scientific successes make it possible for this country to independently create nuclear weapons. However, this power has signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. After the war, Japan embarked on the path of demilitarization and proclaimed the principle of refusal to use military force in resolving international conflicts.
One of the foundations of the Japanese state's policy is the refusal to conduct research in the field of the production of atomic weapons. However, the testing of such weapons in neighboring North Korea has led to the fact that Japanese politicians and military experts are increasingly calling on the government for changes in this area.
Japan and nuclear weapons
There are no nuclear weapons in Japan today. And the development of such weapons systems is not included in the state's plans. However, the country has reserves of plutonium and uranium that are quite sufficient to create a nuclear bomb in a very short time. Some Japanese politicians use this trump card in the form of latent potential when dealing with issues of interaction with neighboring countries, restraining the ambitions of China and South Korea.
Politicians call the potential for Japan's creation of nuclear weapons "the bomb in the basement." China is very concerned about the steps its island neighbor is taking to produce plutonium.
Currently, Japan has at least 9 tons of weapons-grade plutonium. Such raw materials are stored in different regions of the country. There is also a certain amount of enriched uranium in the reserve of the Japanese state, the reserves of which are stored outside the country. These resources are quite enough to make up to 5 thousand atomic bombs.
Japan justifies the large-scale development of nuclear power by the need to expand the economy and the lack of natural energy sources on the islands. Experts believe that the country’s agreement with the IAEA is an additional guarantee of the absence of a military threat.
The international community is closely following the statements of Japanese politicians, who are increasingly expressing doubts about the advisability of the country's further participation in the nuclear nonproliferation program.
