Sign-In
Cart
Nuclear Japan
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781839757969
Publisher: Grosvenor House Pub Ltd
Published: Mar 31 2022
Pages: 60
Weight: 0.19
Height: 0.14 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
These observations are based upon the premise that, with war having been a constant feature of humankind's evolution, a nation's security and prosperity are inextricably linked with its military strength. To illustrate the point, the author compares the revered historical cities of Venice and Aleppo. Of the two, Venice benefited from having the most advanced military capacity of mediaeval times and thus enjoyed prolonged stability while Aleppo constantly suffered at the hands of more powerful enemies. Japan more closely resembles the latter.
In the postwar era, it is the states equipped with nuclear weapons that have dictated the balance of power. Indeed, the four countries of most significance to Japan's present security are its ally the United States and the hostile or potentially hostile China, Russia and North Korea - all of them nuclear-armed. As the ultimately fruitless meetings between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and former US President Donald Trump illustrate, North Korea has absolutely no intention of giving up its nuclear and other advanced armaments. But even if it were to do so, the more menacing threat to Japan comes from China. With its militarisation of the South China Sea, its aggressive intentions towards Taiwan, its provocative behaviour around the Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands, its relentless military expansion and its determination to replace America as the regional hegemon, China represents an undoubtedly grave danger to Japan.
The author proposes a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, Japan should construct a network of nuclear shelters sufficient in scale and number to protect its people - particularly in the populous urban areas that would probably be targeted by the enemy. Secondly, Japan should join NATO and avail itself of the protection afforded by American nuclear warheads and bombs while preparing itself for war. However, if joining NATO turned out to be unfeasible, Japan should instead divert the resources currently allocated to maintaining the US military presence in the country to developing its own atomic warheads and bombs as well as submarines equipped with nuclear missiles.
Despite the received wisdom that Japan is forbidden by its constitution from having nuclear weapons, the author points out that the issue has been raised by various administrations in the past going as far back as that of Prime Minister Kishi Nobosuke in 1957. Moreover, the frequent port calls by US submarines and aircraft carriers laden with atomic weapons make a mockery of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles that Japan supposedly observes. With the US-Japan Security Alliance offering absolutely no guarantee of protection, the author sees no impediment to Japan abrogating it and embarking on its own nuclear weapons programme. In the postwar period, a number of countries have succeeded in developing such weapons and it is perfectly possible for Japan to do likewise.
In conclusion, the author foresees a situation in which China succeeds in subjugating Taiwan and America is forced by financial constraints to reduce its military presence in the Far East. The only country able to make up the shortfall would be Japan - which, by acquiring nuclear weapons, would be able to maintain the balance of security in East Asia. By the same token, it would be able to ensure its own survival.
Also from
Ishizumi, Kanji
Also in
General Political Science
Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea
Hunt-Hendrix, Leah
Taylor, Astra
Hardcover
Capitalism and the Camera: Essays on Photography and Extraction
James, Daniel
Coleman, Kevin
Paperback
The Craftivist Collective Handbook: Projects, Stories and Methods for Your Gentle Protests
Corbett, Sarah P.
Hardcover
Guerrilleros and Neighbours in Arms: Identities & Cultures of Anti-Fascist Resistance in Spain
Marco
Paperback
Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the Maga Media Are Destroying America
Pfeiffer, Dan
Hardcover
Urban Revolutions: Urbanisation and (Neo-)Colonialism in Transatlantic Context
Kipfer, Stefan
Paperback
Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias
Biddle, Stephen
Hardcover
By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution
Talbot, Margaret
Talbot, David
Hardcover
An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents Over Three Centuries
Correia, David
Hardcover
Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism
Wolin, Sheldon S.
Paperback
The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy
Giridharadas, Anand
Hardcover
Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal
Cummins, Ronnie
Paperback
Everyday Life and Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico: Men, Women, and War
Wasserman, Mark
Paperback
Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back
Stirewalt, Chris
Paperback
With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful
Greenwald, Glenn
Hardcover
Doing History from the Bottom Up: On E.P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below
Lynd, Staughton
Paperback
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
Kristof, Nicholas D.
Wudunn, Sheryl
Paperback
The Clash of Globalizations: Neo-Liberalism, the Third Way and Anti-Globalization
Kiely, Ray
Paperback
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
Haberman, Maggie
Swan, Jonathan
Hardcover
The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Murray, Melissa
Hardcover
Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds
Fugelsang, John
Hardcover
The College Scam: How America's Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America's Youth
Kirk, Charlie
Hardcover
American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump
Bird, Kai
Goldmark, Susan
Hardcover
American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
Meacham, Jon
Hardcover
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
Kobes Du Mez, Kristin
Hardcover
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: How to Reclaim Your Power, Fight for Freedom, and Reimagine Democracy
Perryman, Skye
Paperback
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017
Khalidi, Rashid
Paperback
The Elijah Mandate: A Call to Courageous Faith in a Hostile World
Tsarfati, Amir
Piflaks, Tolik
Paperback
The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America
Warnock, Raphael G.
Hardcover
Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded Usaid
Enrich, Nicholas
Hardcover
The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon
Schweizer, Peter
Hardcover
The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution
Wegman, Jesse
Hardcover
Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court
Isgur, Sarah
Hardcover
The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World
Bevins, Vincent
Paperback
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Goldstone, Brian
Paperback
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All
Yudkowsky, Eliezer
Soares, Nate
Hardcover
Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America
Phillips-Fein, Kim
Hardcover
The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the Maga Movement
Hanson, Victor Davis
Hardcover
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Goldstone, Brian
Hardcover
Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage
Thompson, Heather Ann
Hardcover
The Origins of Totalitarianism: With a New Introduction by Anne Applebaum
Applebaum, Anne
Arendt, Hannah
Paperback
Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution
Hemingway, Mollie
Hardcover
Wtf America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy
Meiselas, Ben
Meiselas, Brett
Meiselas, Jordy
Hardcover