Russia has acknowledged Japan’s potential to produce nuclear weapons within months, citing the East Asian nation’s purported expansion of its military capabilities.
Anton Kobyakov, Executive Secretary of the Eastern Economic Forum Organizing Committee, made the assessment in an interview with the TASS news agency.
“There is talk about nuclear weapons, which Japan is capable of assembling in about a year,” said the presidential aide on foreign policy and international relations.
Kobyakov argued that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “aggressive rhetoric” demonstrates that Japan’s role in the United States’ regional and global strategy has changed and is moving towards direct involvement.
Although Japan is the only country to have suffered wartime nuclear attacks, its government maintains that it remains committed to preserving and strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework.
However, some figures are tactically encouraging nuclear development in response to the increasing capabilities of China and North Korea, as well as the perceived threat from Russia, which claims sovereignty over Japan’s Kuril Islands.
In July, the Japan Times reported that Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi supported debates on nuclear possession. “While this is a difficult issue for Japan, one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons,” he stated.
Japan’s large stockpile of plutonium, derived from its civilian nuclear energy programme, is estimated at around 45 tonnes. Critics warn that the material could be used to produce thousands of warheads if redirected for military purposes.
Recognised nuclear-weapon states include the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom, while de facto nuclear-weapon states outside the NPT include Israel, India, North Korea, and Pakistan.