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Japan Sets Alarms Ringing with Ominous Nuclear Bill

The Korean press was in uproar Thursday after reports that a new bill passed this week in the Japanese Diet paves the way for Tokyo to acquire nuclear weapons. The Asahi Shimbun reported that the revised bill, amended Wednesday by the Liberal Democratic Party and endorsed by the ruling Democratic Party and New Komeito Party, includes a controversial clause that nudges open the door to defensive use of nuclear arms.

The clause says that the safe use of atomic power contributes to "national security."


Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura played down any intention to use atomic power for military purposes. "The government has no goal at all for its military use," he told reporters Thursday.

But his comments failed to quell fears that Japan may have paved the way to develop nuclear weapons later on.