Asia experts: Crumbling U.S. Assurances Could Force Japan To Go Nuclear

Many in Japan are questioning U.S. assurances of nuclear deterrence against North Korea, So, we now have a credibility deficit in Japan that we need to be very careful about,” security experts told Congress.

Former Pentagon official and current Harvard professor Joseph Nye told Congress that Japan could easily develop nuclear weapons because of its extensive civilian nuclear power infrastructure.

“Japan, obviously, has the capacity to go nuclear, if it so wished,” Nye told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia on June 25. “It hasn’t felt the need, because we’ve   ( the U. S.) extended deterrents.”

Nye warned that following through on President Obama’s desire to completely rid the U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons would be destabilizing and force countries like Japan to build their own nuclear arms. The so-called Obama doctrine is viewed by most as part of a dangerous Pollyanna foreign policy that would leave the U. S. vulnerable to attack and strip away protections hitherto extended too allies. Since World War II allies have believed U. S. promises of security behind its nuclear shield. Obama’s extreme rheotoric and consistently confused foreign policy have cracked the foundation of U. S. strength built up since World War II.

“The dilemma is that if we were to go too fast, too hard, too close to zero, we would bring nuclear deterrents, extended deterrents, into question,” Nye said.

North Korea’s nuclear tests have “severely challenged” efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear arms from the current nine nuclear powers, and Iran will almost certainly acquire a nuclear bomb within months.

“As we try to implement a policy to which we are committed, under Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, of reducing our arsenals and getting to lower numbers, we have to make sure that we do it in such a way that it doesn’t call into question the credibility of our extended deterrents because, that paradoxically, would actually increase rather than decrease proliferation,” Nye said.

“And that central dilemma is one which is going to require very close consultation between Washington and Tokyo. We should not be taking steps, whether it’s to deal with what I call the outrageous behavior of North Korea, or whether it’s to deal with the implementation of the long term desire to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons. We should not be taking these without very close consultations with Tokyo,” Nye said.