[Ronin]

Anyone who thinks that Japan doesn't have nukes is deluding themselves. Technically, they may not exist -- but you can bet your last yen that all the components have been pre-fabricated and carefully hidden away.

There are military bases in Japan that the U.S. military has never found and the Japanese government has never revealed. There are a number of major bases that are known, but totally off-limits to foreigners. The Japanese are very good at keeping secrets.

Japan's Monju fast-breeder reactor was built completely with indigenous technology and remains one of the nations most secretive and inaccessible artifacts. It is not very reliable as such reactors go. It is old and creaky and not totally safe. I believe it was constructed for one reason only -- to ensure Japan had an independent source of plutonium should it be needed.

They also have an indigenous satellite launching capability that would not be that difficult to convert to ICBM construction. And don't think for a moment that plans of that nature have not been carefully made and tucked away from prying eyes. No doubt there are also a few prefabricated components and hidden launch sites around.

They even seem to be going into the overhead-imagery business with their own spy-sat.

No matter what the Japanese constitution says, the Japanese remain Japanese and are not likely to allow any nation to practice nuclear blackmail without repaying the favor.

[flamefront]

components -

You mean like all those large plutonium shipments it received?

Isn't Japan the owner of the largest stockpile of plutonium?

Now I understand why that transfer happened.

[bonesmccoy]

The "Japanese remain Japanese"... what is that supposed to mean?

Exactly how would Japan even fund this kind of development program, even if they did have the materials?