Grievances, border disputes, and political rivalries have long been major factors in Japan-China relations. In recent times, the nuclear factor has increasingly become another factor that can lead to tensions. Latent Japanese nuclear capabilities, Chinese concerns over Japan’s nuclear technology programmes and the changes in the US extended deterrence system have all contributed to increased tensions in the East Asian region over nuclear issues. If left unchecked, the nuclear factor could destabilise the region. These tensions could be addressed through diplomacy, increased transparency and a stronger security framework in the region. This paper will discuss the background of the nuclear tensions in Japan-China relations, their impact on the stability of the region, and finally, the possible way out of the difficulties that may arise in the region.

To understand the nuclear dimension in Japan–China relations, one has to look into the past of this bilateral relationship. Japan’s post-war constitution and its “three non-nuclear principles” aimed at preventing Japan from becoming a military power like in the Second World War era, and also at enabling the country to atone for its aggression during wartime and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This resulted in Japan having what could be called an “implicit capacity” to become a nuclear weapons state, thanks to the civilian use of nuclear energy and the storage of plutonium. As for China, it declared itself a nuclear power in 1964. In terms of security, looking at the capacity of Japan to become a nuclear weapons state is a strategic issue for Beijing, which bears in mind the numerous and painful aggressions it has suffered in the course of its history with Japan.

The nuclear debate in Japan has been intensifying in recent years in the backdrop of heightened security tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. North Korea’s continuing missile tests and its development of nuclear weapons have escalated Japanese security concerns. China’s rapid build-up of its military capability and its aggressive posturing in the East and South China Seas........

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