Review of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty approaching—Beware Japan’s nuclear ambitions and resurgent militarism

On April 27, the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will be held at the United Nations headquarters. As a cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation scheme, the NPT has played an irreplaceable and vital role since its signing in 1968 in curbing the spread of nuclear weapons and maintaining world peace and security. However, as the international security landscape undergoes profound changes and regional conflicts continue to happen, the global nuclear non-proliferation scheme is facing unprecedented challenges.

Currently, a series of dangerous moves in Japan’s nuclear policy, intertwined with its accelerating remilitarization process, have become one of the greatest threats to nuclear security in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world at large. The international community must maintain a high level of vigilance and forge a united front at the upcoming Review Conference to effectively curb Japan’s nuclear adventurism, strictly prevent Japanese right-wing forces from undermining the foundation of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, and resolutely safeguard the post-war international nuclear order.

Japan's Nuclear Policy Continues to Be "Relaxed"

Japan's "nuclear ambiguity" has been its long-standing policy, and the bottom line of "three non-nuclear principles" established during the Cold War are constantly violated.

It has openly questioned and sought to amend its constitution to acquire nuclear weapons. In recent years, many Japanese politicians have publicly challenged the "three non-nuclear principles", advocated “nuclear sharing”, and even clamored for developing their own nuclear weapons. Since the Sanae Takaichi administration came to power, this dangerous tendency has intensified. Regarding Japan’s history of aggression, Sanae Takaichi herself has repeatedly denied historical facts such as the “Nanjing Massacre” and the forced conscription of “comfort women”, openly questioned the “Murayama statement” that reflects on Japan’s aggressive past, and distorted the war of aggression against China as a “war of self-defense”. At the same time, on nuclear policy, she has not concealed her ambition to possess nuclear weapons, repeatedly proposing to revise the "three non-nuclear principles" and promoting "nuclear sharing" negotiations with the United States for the US nuclear weapons to be deployed in Japan. Her attempt to acquire nuclear weapons cannot be more clear.

Japan’s technical reserves have already crossed the threshold for nuclear weapons development. Japan possesses world-class civilian nuclear technology systems and a large-scale nuclear power industry. Over the years, it has accumulated vast amounts of nuclear materials and top-tier nuclear technical talents. Its stockpile of nuclear raw materials far exceeds the actual needs of civilian nuclear energy and is sufficient to support large-scale nuclear weapons production. What is more alarming is that Japan has mastered the entire chain of core technologies including uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel reprocessing, and possesses a complete nuclear fuel cycle capability. This means Japan has already crossed the core technical threshold for nuclear weapons development. Once a political decision is made, it could complete the development of nuclear weapons in an extremely short time and become a de facto nuclear-weapon state.

Defects in nuclear safety governance expose Japan’s management failure. The 2011 nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was characterized by the accident investigation committee of the Japanese Diet as "a man-made disaster disguised as an act of God," reflecting a serious failure of Japan's nuclear safety regulatory system. The regulatory body, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), was subordinate to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which was also responsible for promoting nuclear energy, creating a distorted structure of "self-regulation." After the accident, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) systematically concealed, delayed, and falsified information, severely hampering crisis response. Moreover, the shadow of the Fukushima nuclear contamination continues to spread. As of December 22, 2025, Japan had discharged a cumulative total of over 133,000 tons of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. TEPCO plans to carry out eight more rounds of discharges in fiscal year 2026, totaling approximately 62,400 tons. Such behavior by Japan, shifting the risk of nuclear contamination onto the entire world, fully exposes its extreme irresponsibility in nuclear safety governance.

Remilitarization Process Accelerating

Japan's nuclear proliferation ambitions are dangerously converging with its accelerated drive for remilitarization.

The Japanese defense policy has crossed the bottom line of "Exclusive Defense". In recent years, Japan has continuously broken the "Exclusive Defense" principal, significantly increasing its defense budget and striving to develop offensive weapons and equipment. In 2025, Japan's defense budget reached a record high, which has been growing for 13 consecutive years. At the end of March this year, Japan officially deployed offensive missiles with a range of over 1,000 kilometers in Kumamoto Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture, far exceeding the limit of "Exclusive Defense" and having the capability to conduct long-range strikes against neighboring countries. Meanwhile, Japan is also actively developing advanced weapons and equipment such as hypersonic missiles, unmanned aircraft, and artificial intelligence combat systems, in an attempt to build an "offensive force" capable of conducting operations overseas.

Militarist ideology is rampant within the Self-Defense Forces. The growing tide of militarism in Japan's Self-Defense Forces has provided an ideological breeding ground for the dangerous confluence of nuclear proliferation and remilitarization. On March 24, Kodai Murata, a Second Lieutenant of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, carrying a knife with a blade length of approximately 18 cm, climbed over the wall and broke into the Chinese embassy in Japan, declaring that he would "kill Chinese diplomatic personnel in the name of God." This is by no means an isolated extreme incident by an individual; rather, it is a concentrated manifestation of deep-rooted problems within the Self-Defense Forces. Moreover, at key Japanese personnel training institutions such as the Ground Self-Defense Force Officer Candidate School and the National Defense Academy of Japan, the atmosphere of invoking militarism has long been appalling. Japanese textbooks blatantly distort the history of World War II, beautifying the war of aggression as "self-defense against the invasion of Asia by Western powers," and poison young officers with the old Japanese "imperial state ideology," leaving them devoid of correct historical understanding and filled with militarist zeal and hostility toward foreign countries.

Japan's nuclear ambitions and remilitarization process are reinforcing each other. The incident of forcibly entering our embassy in Japan has sounded an alarm for the international community. If the Japanese right wing is allowed to continue indulging the spread of militarist ideology and advancing nuclear armament, it may lead to the loss of control over Japan's entire military machine in the future. This would not only bring catastrophic consequences to the Asia-Pacific region, but also completely destroy the post-war international order and the nuclear non-proliferation regime, allowing the tragedies of history to repeat themselves.

The International Community Should Respond Jointly

In response to the dangerous trends in Japan, the Chinese government has taken a series of appropriate, legal and reasonable countermeasures, and has called on the international community to take joint actions.

China implements precise export controls in accordance with the law. On February 24, China respectively added 40 Japanese entities to its export control list and watch list. These measures strictly follow the relevant provisions of the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items, comply with internationally accepted norms, and are aimed at preventing dual-use items originating from China from being used for Japanese military purposes, thereby effectively safeguarding peace and security in East Asia.

China's export controls have achieved remarkable results. Stock prices in Japan's defense sector have fluctuated significantly, and the expansion momentum of several core military-related enterprises has been effectively curbed. This is not only a necessary step to safeguard China's national security, but also a fulfillment of its obligations as a state party to the NPT and a demonstration of its sense of responsibility to uphold the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The US and other relevant countries should shoulder their due responsibilities. As a responsible major country, China has always firmly supported the purposes and principles of the NPT, adhered to nuclear policies such as no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and actively participated in international nuclear security cooperation. The US, as Japan's ally and a nuclear-weapon state under the NPT, bears special responsibility for Japan's nuclear policy. It should not indulge Japan's nuclear ambitions in order to contain China, nor should it engage in "nuclear sharing" negotiations with Japan. Doing so would severely undermine the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and ultimately harm the US' own security interests. At the same time, other countries should also proceed from the perspective of safeguarding world peace and security, voice clear opposition to Japan's dangerous moves, and urge the Japanese government to fully fulfill its post-war international obligations, abandon its nuclear proliferation schemes, and stop its nuclear expansion and military buildup.

The NPT Review Conference serves as a key opportunity to constrain Japan. At this NPT Review Conference, China will continue to uphold an objective and impartial stance, call on the international community to jointly safeguard the authority of the NPT, firmly oppose all forms of nuclear proliferation, and remain highly vigilant against Japan's nuclear ambitions. All state parties should work together to resolutely resist Japan's attempts to break through the "three non-nuclear principles," urge Japan to learn from history, face up to its past, and pursue the path of peaceful development. The Conference should adopt a clear resolution requiring Japan to accept comprehensive oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), disclose the specific uses of its nuclear materials, and thoroughly eliminate militarist ideology within its Self-Defense Forces.

History is the best textbook. Japanese militarism once brought severe disasters to the people of Asia, claiming tens of millions of innocent lives and destroying countless homes. Yet the Japanese right-wing forces have persistently denied its history of aggression, glorified the atrocities of militarism, and broken through the constraints of the post-war international order. Only by thoroughly eliminating the remnants of militarism, earnestly respecting the core security concerns of its Asian neighbors, and strictly abiding by its legal obligations under the NPT, can Japan truly earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community.

Maintaining the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and safeguarding world peace and security is the shared mission of humankind. The international community should join hands, build consensus, resolutely resist the dangerous countercurrent of nuclear proliferation, jointly cement the foundation of peace for future generations, and build a better world of enduring peace and universal security.

Contibuted by Gong Yan, Professor of the Party School of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Distinguished Researcher of the Tianjin Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

Translated by Zhang Xijin