ABSTRACT
As long as a completely unexpected change does not take place in the world’s military situation, Japan will not choose to become a nuclear power in the foreseeable future. Herman Kahn of the American Hudson Institute keeps repeating at every opportunity that Japan will decide, some time in the mid-1970s, to become a nuclear power. In particular, nuclear armament is becoming increasingly distasteful to Japan. In the first place, compared with the past, the military value of nuclear weapons has become increasingly doubtful. It is true that the nuclear balance between the United States and the Soviet Union has brought about a situation of stabilized mutual deterrence between the two countries. Domestically, Japan must build up public opinion against any trend toward nuclear armament and must adopt policies that will prevent the militarization of Japan’s industries. More importantly, Japan must seek some way of escaping from her feeling of reliance on the nuclear umbrella of the nuclear super-powers.
