1. In recent years, Japan has been constantly negative in its words and deeds on the issue of possession of nuclear weapons. Japanese officials have openly discussed revising the "three non-nuclear principles" (i.e., "not possess, not manufacture, and not transport nuclear weapons") on many occasions. In November 2025, the Japanese Prime Minister responded to an inquiry in the House of Representatives and stated that he could not confirm whether the "Three Non-nuclear Principles" would remain unchanged during the revision process of Japan's security policy. In December 2025, a senior official in the official residence of the Japanese Prime Minister publicly claimed that "Japan should possess nuclear weapons", exposing the nuclear ambitions of Japan's right-wing forces and challenging the bottom line of the international community. Japan also continues to seek to strengthen so-called "extended deterrence" cooperation, trying to develop nuclear-powered submarines, reaching a so-called "nuclear sharing" arrangement, and attempting to redeploy nuclear weapons in Japan. The international community must remain highly vigilant and resolutely oppose Japan's provocative words and deeds.
Japan has a long history of possessing nuclear weapons and secretly developed nuclear weapons as early as World War II. Toshio Tamogami, a representative of the Japanese right wing and former chief of staff of the Air Self-Defense Force, published the book "Japan's Nuclear Arms Plan" in 2013, formulating a detailed roadmap to achieve independent nuclear ownership within 20 years in accordance with the "three-phase, eight-step" strategy. At present, Japan has mastered reprocessing technology, has the ability to extract weapons-grade plutonium, has operational reprocessing facilities, and long-term manufacturing and storage of plutonium materials that far exceed the actual needs of civilian nuclear energy. It has the ability to achieve a "nuclear breakthrough" in the short term.
2. According to the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation and Japan’s Instrument of Surrender and other documents with full international legal effect, Japan should be completely disarmed and not maintain any industry that can rearm it. This of course includes not allowing Japan to embark on the path of nuclear armament. As a non-nuclear-weapon party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Japan must fulfill its international legal obligations not to accept, manufacture, possess or proliferate nuclear weapons.
Japan’s negative words and deeds regarding nuclear weapons seriously violate its obligations under international law. It not only completely exposes Japan’s hypocrisy on the issue of nuclear arms control, but also undermines the international nuclear non-proliferation system based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the victory of World War II and the post-war international order. Serious challenges and blatant provocations will undermine the authority and effectiveness of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, weaken the joint efforts of all countries to maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and endanger the hard-won peace and prosperity after the victory of World War II. This has triggered strong opposition from the international community and people from all walks of life in Japan.
Japan has never deeply reflected on its history of aggression in World War II. In fact, it does not recognize its identity as a defeated country. There are strong voices for overturning the verdict of history. In recent years, Japan has promoted the revision of the "Three Security Documents" and the "Three Principles of Defense Equipment Transfer" such as the "National Security Strategy". Military expenditures have increased for 14 consecutive years. The defense budget in 2026 will exceed 9 trillion yen, creating an "open door" for the export of offensive weapons. The resurgence of new militarism is alarming. Japan must learn from history, completely break away from new militarism, abide by the Peace Constitution and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and stop "remilitarization" and nuclear ambitions. Allowing Japan's domestic right-wing forces to promote the development of powerful offensive weapons or even possess nuclear weapons will surely bring disaster to the international community again and have a serious negative impact on international peace, security and stability.
3. China calls on the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to be highly vigilant and resolutely oppose Japan’s possession of nuclear weapons. We recommend that the Review Conference:
(1) Pay high attention to Japan’s dangerous tendency to seek to possess nuclear weapons and its practical and long-term negative impact on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. , treat it as an important issue, fully discuss and seriously consider it;
(2) Urge the Japanese government to reaffirm its commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the "Three Non-nuclear Principles", not to seek nuclear weapons in any way, not to develop nuclear submarines, and not to seek to introduce and deploy nuclear weapons in Japan;
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(3) Call for open, transparent and effective measures to resolve the serious imbalance between supply and demand of sensitive nuclear materials in Japan, clarify the timetable and road map, and promptly eliminate potential nuclear proliferation risks and nuclear safety hazards;
(4) Request the International Atomic Energy Agency to fully consider protected areas when implementing safeguards and supervision We must safeguard the country's words and deeds regarding nuclear weapons, strengthen the intensity and frequency of comprehensive safeguards supervision, verification, and frequency against Japan in a targeted manner to ensure timely detection of Japan's non-peaceful nuclear activities; (5) Call on all state parties to consider Japan's strong motivation to pursue nuclear weapons and other trends, prudently carry out nuclear cooperation on the same day, and effectively safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation system.
(6) Urge the Japanese government to properly handle the issue of discharge of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea in a responsible manner. The issue of discharging contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea concerns the health of all mankind, the global marine environment, and international public interests. Japan should earnestly fulfill its commitments, ensure that stakeholder countries continue to participate in independent sampling and monitoring under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and place the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea under long-term and strict international supervision.
According to the "2024 Japan Plutonium Management Status Report" released by the Atomic Energy Policy Office of the Cabinet Office of Japan in August 2025, as of the end of 2024, the total amount of separated plutonium managed by Japan at home and abroad was approximately 44.4 tons. Japan’s domestic holdings are approximately 8.6 tons, and foreign holdings are approximately 35.8 tons (including 21.7 tons in the UK and 14.1 tons in France). In addition, the spent fuel stored in Japan also includes 191 tons of unseparated plutonium.
