Foreign Ministry issues report on Japan's nuclear ambition

The Foreign Ministry released a working paper regarding Japan's pursuit of nuclear weapons on Thursday, in which China called on countries that have signed onto the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to "remain highly vigilant and firmly oppose Japan's possessing nuclear weapons."

The paper urged the countries to "carefully consider Japan's strong motivation to acquire nuclear weapons and other related developments, exercise caution in nuclear cooperation with Japan, and effectively safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime".

In the document, published on the Foreign Ministry's website, Beijing urged the Japanese government not to seek nuclear weapons in any form, not to develop nuclear submarines, and not to seek to introduce or deploy nuclear weapons within Japan.

The report urged the NPT Review Conference to attach great importance to Japan's dangerous tendency to seek nuclear weapons and its immediate and long-term negative impact on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and to treat this as a key issue for thorough discussion and serious consideration.

The document calls on the International Atomic Energy Agency to specifically strengthen the scope, intensity, and frequency of comprehensive safeguards and verification activities regarding Japan to ensure the timely detection of any non-peaceful nuclear activities conducted by Japan.

China calls for the adoption of open, transparent, and effective measures to address the significant imbalance between the supply and demand of sensitive nuclear materials in Japan, establish a clear timeline and roadmap, and timely eliminate potential nuclear proliferation risks and nuclear safety hazards, according to the document.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn