Will Japan go nuclear? Myth and reality

Predominant international relations theory holds that a state will stop at nothing to protect itself and survive in a basically anarchic international environment. Matake Kamiya confronts recent speculation that Japan is unlikely to be an exception to this rule. To convince others, he states, Japan must show specifically why the choice to remain nonnuclear serves its national interests, despite its latent capability to develop nuclear weapons. Kamiya is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the National Defense Academy of Japan; recently, he also served as Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies in New Zealand.