Beijing warns of Japan's nuclear ambitions at UN NPT review conference
Updated
Updated · The Diplomat · May 7
Beijing warns of Japan's nuclear ambitions at UN NPT review conference
6 articles · Updated · The Diplomat · May 7
China issued a working paper on 30 April and told the New York conference it would oppose any Japanese move to acquire or host nuclear weapons.
The warning follows Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's 2025 Taiwan remarks, missile deployments, a destroyer's Taiwan Strait transit and eased Japanese arms-export rules, which Beijing casts as signs of neo-militarism.
Japan remains a non-nuclear NPT state under IAEA safeguards and keeps its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, but worsening mistrust is raising fears of wider China-Japan crisis escalation.
Japan is rapidly rearming, but can its hollowed-out military actually fight a war against China?
As Japan's missiles aim at China for 'defense,' are both powers stumbling into an accidental war?
With 90% of advanced chips made in Taiwan, is a China-Japan conflict the trigger for global economic collapse?
The US-Japan Alliance, China's Warnings, and the Future of Nuclear Non-Proliferation in Asia
Overview
At the 2025 NPT Review Conference, China accused Japan of nuclear proliferation risks due to its large plutonium stockpile, advanced reprocessing capabilities, and military modernization, while also condemning US-led policies like the AUKUS pact and strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Japan firmly rejected these claims, reaffirming its non-nuclear principles and relying on the US nuclear umbrella for security. Meanwhile, Japan’s internal debate over revising its non-nuclear stance, alongside South Korea’s military enhancements and deepening trilateral cooperation with the US, heightened regional tensions. These dynamics, combined with distrust among nuclear and non-nuclear states and major power rivalries, contributed to the conference’s failure and pose serious challenges to global non-proliferation and disarmament efforts.