Nuclear Allergy
Japan is often described as having an "allergy" to anything even remotely related to nuclear weapons. This allergy sometimes extends to nonmilitary uses of nuclear technology. Even so, the Japanese government has actively pursued nuclear power as a source of energy, despite public reservations stemming from Japan's history as the only country to experience the hostile use of nuclear weapons. The collective social and psychological scare left by the U.S. decision to use atomic bombs at the end of World War II has had lasting political implications.
The nuclear allergy toward weapons became institutionalized in 1967 when the then–prime minister Sato Eisaku delineated Japan's three nonnuclear principles. First, Sato pledged that Japan would not produce nuclear weapons. Second, Japan would not possess nuclear weapons in its self-defense arsenal. Finally, Japan would not permit other countries, notably the United States, to have nuclear weapons on Japanese soil. These principles were partially responsible for Sato's sharing the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize. The third principle, it turns out, was not met, as the United States did at times transport and store nuclear weapons on Japanese soil, apparently without the Japanese government's knowledge. Furthermore, the nonnuclear stance was an easy foreign policy position to adopt, since Japan was under the American nuclear umbrella. Nevertheless, the anti–nuclear weapons stance has been a mainstay of Japanese foreign policy.
It is worth noting that while the Japanese public and government may be allergic to nuclear weapons there is an uneasy yet substantial role for nuclear power in Japan. Japan's penchant for nuclear power results in part from the long-held view of the country as a small island devoid of natural resources and in need of energy self-sufficiency. Moreover, the 1973 oil shock taught the Japanese government that the country was too sensitive to disruptions in fossil fuel supplies and hence that it should increase domestic electricity-generating capacity. The net result is Japan's uncomfortable embrace of nuclear power while it rejects nuclear weapons.
Further Reading
Pempel, T. J. (1975) "Japan's Nuclear Allergy." Current History (April): 169–173.
Samuels, Richard J. (1994) Rich Nation, Strong Army: National Security and the Technological Transformation of Japan. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Suzuki, Tatsujiro. (1991) "Japan's Nuclear Dilemma." Technology Review 94 (October): 41–49.
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