“If NK builds nuclear weapons, Japan will build nuclear weapons.”
I think it’s naïve to think that Japan isn’t tooled up to slap a nuke together in a matter of a couple of weeks, if not days. This innocent-looking part, that innocent-looking machine, a few of these over here, a few of those over there, and presto…my, my, looky what we found.
I’d do that; wouldn’t you?
Besides, NK has had nuclear warheads for years, and the Japanese know it from defectors. Heck, it was in the newspapers back in the late 80s, then disappeared, then reappeard as a big shock.
“China will defend her interests to the last North Korean and we will defend our interests to the last Japanese.”
WRT Taiwan, China has already asked us if we are willing to trade Los Angeles for Taipei (or words to that effect).
“we will defend our interests to the last Japanese.”
Which the Japanese don’t find entirely reassuring. Especially after 8 years of Clinocchio.
IMO, they are dancing on the highwire, always keeping in mind the possibility that they will need to jump into China’s camp, and the possibility that they will need their own nukes to go eyeball to eyeball with NK.
When I say “they,” of course, I am talking about real power-brokers, not figureheads like Koizumi.