The Australian has an article up today entitled “Tokyo urged to consider N-bombs“. When I saw the headline I was kind of confused at the idea of Japan being related to the “N-Bomb”. Then I realized that they meant “Nuclear Bomb”:

JAPAN should study the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons, says former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, because its US security blanket cannot be guaranteed to last forever.

Mr Nakasone’s call for the next government to consider nuclear weapons and to prepare an independent defence strategy comes from a man who as prime minister from 1982 to 1987 was the most outspoken Japanese leader in support of the US security alliance.

Famed for his warm “Ron and Yasu” relationship with then US leader Ronald Reagan, Mr Nakasone remains strongly pro-alliance, but on Tuesday he warned: “Whether or not the US will maintain the same attitude is unpredictable. There is a need to study the option of nuclear weapons.”

Mr Nakasone, 88, now runs a think tank focused on security issues, the Institute for International Policy Studies, and is thought to be manoeuvring to become a mentor on international strategy to Shinzo Abe.

Perhaps in response to Nakasone’s discussion of the N-bomb, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo has run this editorial[found via the Marmot] expressing anger at it’s government’s inability to prepare for the very real threat of the ‘criminal’ Japanese nation acquiring nukes. While Japan does have the capibility to very quickly produce nuclear weapons, it is unlikely that they will be producing them for use against South Korea (although, when I read moronic editorials from the Chosun Ilbo, I almost wish they were). Get a grip on reality, guys: the reason why some Japanese are thinking about nuclear weapons is because the North Korean regime, which is propped up by South Korean tribute payments, has been kidnapping Japanese citizens and threatening Japan with provocative missile tests and statements about nuclear weapons.

That being said, I don’t think Japan needs nuclear weapons. Nobody’s going to attack Japan while they are America’s #1 ally in Asia.