Japan's pursuit of nuclear weapons has become a real threat: Defense Spokesperson

BEIJING, June 25 -- "Japan's pursuit of nuclear weapons has become a real, rather than potential, threat," said a Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday. It is reported that Japan's Liberal Democratic Party recently adopted a draft proposal on revising the country's three key security documents, emphasized that the credibility of "extended deterrence" centered on U.S.-provided nuclear weapons should be ensured, and proposed to develop submarines capable of carrying long-range missiles and powered by next-generation propulsion systems. In addition, the U.S. and Japan held an Extended Deterrence Dialogue, claiming to further strengthen cooperation. In response to the above reports, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) pointed out that "extended deterrence" is a product of the Cold War. Certain countries, driven by geopolitical motives, have strengthened their cooperation on nuclear deterrence, which leads to greater risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear conflict. He then emphasized that Japan has long schemed for nuclear armament. Its right-wing forces have intensified their attempts to revise the "three non-nuclear principles", and stockpiled plutonium far exceeding the needs of the civilian sector. The total quantity of separated plutonium under Japan’s management at home and abroad is approximately 44.4 tons, enabling the production of a large number of nuclear warheads within a short period of time. "Portraying Japan as a victim of nuclear explosion and a supporter of a nuclear-free world on the one hand to fool the world, governing authorities in Japan have, on the other hand, continuously strengthened cooperation with its ally on 'extended deterrence' and are eager to replicate nuclear-sharing arrangements to introduce its ally's nuclear weapons into Japan," stressed the spokesperson. "We urge the Japanese side to earnestly fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and refrain from seeking nuclear weapons in any form. We also call on the U.S. to abandon its Cold War mentality, and stop adopting provocative policies and actions, so as to avoid undermining regional peace and security as well as global strategic stability," added the spokesperson.