Japanese leader warns China of nuclear option

The Times of India ^ | Sunday April 7 2002 | AFP

[IndianChief]

TOKYO: A conservative Japanese political leader has warned Beijing that Japan can arm itself with nuclear weapons overnight if China goes ahead with an excessive military build-up, press reports said on Sunday.

The warning from opposition Liberal Party chief Ichiro Ozawa is likely to provoke sharp reaction from China and the rest of Asia, sensitive to any signs of Japan's military revival.

In a lecture in the provincial city of Fukuoka on Saturday, Ozawa said he had referred to the nuclear option during a recent meeting with an official from the intelligence division of the Chinese Community Party, the reports said.

"China is undergoing an expansion of its military power in a bid to join the ranks of the superpowers," said Ozawa, a renowned advocate of a strong armed forces. "It is trying to become a military power following in the steps of the United States."

Ozawa, 59, a former secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said he had told the unidentified Chinese visitor: "If you get too inflated, Japanese people will get hysterical."

"It would be easy for us to produce nuclear warheads. We can produce thousands of nuclear warheads overnight. We may have enough plutonium at nuclear power plants for 3,000 or 4,000 rounds."

He added: "I told that person that if we rise to the occasion, we will never be beaten even in terms of military power."

Ozawa, however, emphasised that what he really wanted was a fully democratic China and a society in which "China and Japan can co-exist".

He said the introduction of democracy to China was essential to world peace.

"Any break down of order in China will be no match for that in Afghanistan or Yugoslavia. It will lead to significant global turmoil," he said.

However, Japanese newspapers expressed concern about the possible repercussions arising from Ozawa's remarks.

"His position, in which he has tried to hold China in check by bringing up the possibility of nuclear armament, is likely to cause ripples at home and abroad," the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun said.

The influential daily Asahi Shimbun said it anticipated a "backlash from the Chinese government and others".

[Mortimer Snavely]

It sounds contradictory, but people like Ozawa are generally the most opposed to pre-1945 Japanist ideology. It's a very counter-intuitive country and thought system.

As far as the book is concerned, you may want to run a Google search on "Nihonjin ron" or "Japanese uniqueness" for some really interesting stuff.

[DB]

I would bet they've done it.

[DB]

Would you put your fate in the likes of Bill Clinton if you have a choice???

[ganesha]

The problem with relying on the United States to nuke China in order to save Japan, is that under the doctrine of mutual assured destruction, nuclear war is considered to be suicidal. Therefore the U.S. would have to be willing to suffer casualties from Chinese nukes in order to save another country. If the Chinese government doubts our willingness to do this, they would not be deterred from attacking Japan. In contrast, China would be less likely to doubt the willingness of Japanese to defend their own country.

This same situation exists with regards to Taiwan.