Japan discussed with W. Germany in 1969 possibility of going nuclear
Nov. 30, 2010
Japan's Foreign Ministry released a report Monday effectively acknowledging that Japan discussed the possibility of going nuclear with West Germany in 1969 despite its 1967 declaration of opposing the production, possession and presence of nuclear weapons.
The report said diplomatic papers from West Germany the Japanese ministry examined said that foreign ministry officials met with counterparts from West Germany in the resort town of Hakone, west of Tokyo, on Feb. 4 to 5 in 1969 and hinted at possessing nuclear arms and sought support from the country.
The Japanese ministry also questioned Egon Bahr, who was then head of the German Foreign Ministry's policy planning office and attended the meeting in 1969, and he told it that he heard Japanese officials making a statement during the meeting suggesting Japan may move to possess nuclear weapons, according to the ministry.
Citing the documents from West Germany, the report said a foreign ministry official who headed the Japanese delegation told West Germany it is possible for Japan to create nuclear weapons in the event a threat occurs on the Korean Peninsula and that Japan and West Germany should cooperate to be free from the United States.
The report indicates that thorough discussions were made on whether Japan should possess nuclear arms among members of the government ahead of its signing in 1970 of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Japan also declared for the first time in 1967 what are now called the ''three non-nuclear principles'' of not producing, not possessing and not allowing the entry of nuclear weapons into the country, and a resolution to abide by them was adopted at the Diet in 1971.
The ministry released the report and documents concerned as Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara ordered it on Oct. 4 to look into a TV program aired the previous day by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, formally known as Japan Broadcasting Corp.
Quoting a former senior foreign ministry official, NHK reported that in the 1969 meeting, Japan explained to West Germany that the country may have to consider possessing nuclear weapons within 10 to 15 years and that it had a technology to extract nuclear materials to create nuclear warheads.
The ministry said in the report that Japanese diplomatic papers it looked at failed to confirm that Japanese officials made any remarks to that extent.
But based on the West German papers and statements by Bahr, the report concluded that some passages coincide with the NHK report and that the ministry cannot completely rule out the possibility that Japanese officials made some of the remarks.
According to documents Bahr submitted to Willy Brandt, then German foreign minister, Japan was then predicting that it might be put in abnormal circumstances within 10 to 15 years after the signing of the NPT, for example, if the United States were to deal with China on nuclear weapons.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Nov. 29, 2010)
The report said diplomatic papers from West Germany the Japanese ministry examined said that foreign ministry officials met with counterparts from West Germany in the resort town of Hakone, west of Tokyo, on Feb. 4 to 5 in 1969 and hinted at possessing nuclear arms and sought support from the country.
The Japanese ministry also questioned Egon Bahr, who was then head of the German Foreign Ministry's policy planning office and attended the meeting in 1969, and he told it that he heard Japanese officials making a statement during the meeting suggesting Japan may move to possess nuclear weapons, according to the ministry.
Citing the documents from West Germany, the report said a foreign ministry official who headed the Japanese delegation told West Germany it is possible for Japan to create nuclear weapons in the event a threat occurs on the Korean Peninsula and that Japan and West Germany should cooperate to be free from the United States.
The report indicates that thorough discussions were made on whether Japan should possess nuclear arms among members of the government ahead of its signing in 1970 of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Japan also declared for the first time in 1967 what are now called the ''three non-nuclear principles'' of not producing, not possessing and not allowing the entry of nuclear weapons into the country, and a resolution to abide by them was adopted at the Diet in 1971.
The ministry released the report and documents concerned as Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara ordered it on Oct. 4 to look into a TV program aired the previous day by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, formally known as Japan Broadcasting Corp.
Quoting a former senior foreign ministry official, NHK reported that in the 1969 meeting, Japan explained to West Germany that the country may have to consider possessing nuclear weapons within 10 to 15 years and that it had a technology to extract nuclear materials to create nuclear warheads.
The ministry said in the report that Japanese diplomatic papers it looked at failed to confirm that Japanese officials made any remarks to that extent.
But based on the West German papers and statements by Bahr, the report concluded that some passages coincide with the NHK report and that the ministry cannot completely rule out the possibility that Japanese officials made some of the remarks.
According to documents Bahr submitted to Willy Brandt, then German foreign minister, Japan was then predicting that it might be put in abnormal circumstances within 10 to 15 years after the signing of the NPT, for example, if the United States were to deal with China on nuclear weapons.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Nov. 29, 2010)
