Japan looked into having own nukes, report claims

The Japanese government recently looked into the possibility of developing a nuclear warhead, a news report said yesterday, citing an internal government document.

Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the government's top spokesman, however, denied any knowledge of such a document.

The Sankei Shimbun reported that experts at government organizations concluded that it would be impossible for Japan to develop nuclear weapons within a year or two and that it would take at least three to five years to make a prototype nuclear warhead.

The experts also estimated that Japan would need to spend about ¥200 billion (US$1.68 billion) to ¥300 billion and mobilize several hundred engineers to produce a prototype nuclear warhead, the Sankei reported.

The experts did not say whether Japan should develop nuclear weapons, the summary of a Sept. 20 document titled On the Possibility of Developing Nuclear Weapons Domestically carried by the paper said.

"The government is not aware of such a document," Shiozaki told reporters at a regular press conference.

As the only country ever attacked by atomic weapons, Japan has for decades espoused a strict policy of not possessing, developing or allowing the introduction of nuclear bombs on its territory.

The non-nuclear stance, however, has come under increasing scrutiny since North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on Oct. 9, which raised severe security concerns in Japan and broader fears that a regional arms race could be triggered. Just months prior to the North's nuclear test, it test-fired several ballistic missiles capable of hitting Japan.

Several politicians have suggested that Japan should at least debate going nuclear following the Oct. 9 test.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has said that the country's pacifist Constitution does not ban it from possessing nuclear weapons for self-defense, but stressed that Japan would stick to its policy of forbidding nuclear weapons on Japanese soil.

Japan's huge plutonium stockpile from nuclear power stations is a major international concern, partly because it could be a target of terror attacks or could be turned into nuclear weapons.