I live here and I’m a bit hazy on it too! There has been a wing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that has been pushing for the the repeal, or at least amendment, of Article 9 of the constitution. That’s the article which renounces war and limits Japan to only acting in self-defence. The former PM Shinzo Abe led the faction that supported this and the current PM Takaichi, is also in favour of repealing Article 9.
I’m pretty sure she hasn’t directly come out and said that Japan should have nukes, but I think her mouthpieces in academia and the media are saying it for her.
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Bowing to your superior knowledge Legs, but isn’t it a hangover from having been the only country to have suffered nuclear attack?
I have always understood that Japan was strongly anti nuclear weapons for that reason.
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With respect and kindness, and please know that I only mean this well; I would kindly ask you to be a bit more careful as to what you share on the internet.
Please read the source if you find a sensational headline. Your post now has 5 likes and that is a problem for this forum, since the post you posted is conspiratorical disinformation, posted by your source with a clear economic motive. That is text book defintion of economically motivated disinformation as found in information literacy and media literacy.
Now, I would have said nothing if no one had seemed to like your post, but 5 people have, so you then actually affect people’s perception and learning with what you posted, forcing me to write this (because someone has to for the sake of readers, anthing else would be deeply irresponsible).
Please visit your source. See that it is Polymarket clickbait (these people also bet on wars, how fast for instance Russia will take a given town), consider the conspiratorical headline being pushed, then please think twice. You may want to google this murder instead of sharing such a disinformation clickbait conspiracy account on this board without a warning.
I am not happy to post this and I wish I didn’t have to. I really wish I didn’t have to, but even a moderator has liked your post (shocked me honestly and it’s the reason why I decided to write this). But 5 likes, that is just too much and you then do damage to other people’s brains and contribute to conspiratorial disinformation with an economical motive, being spread.
This post needs to be taken down and people need to be a bit more careful with sensationalist headlines (if something is incredible, such as a targeted hunt for scientists in a certain sector of science, please check the source; please never post anything you don’t know what is when it’s a fantastic topic!)
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I haven’t read any serious political discussion on it being leaked to the media though.
Of course the geopolitical situation and lack of credibility of a US deterrent, is being discussed in academia and also among politicians, but this latest leak reads a bit like a preparation for the topic, which is sure to be contencious in Japan, to be introduced in public debate. But maybe I am wrong.
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There have been occasional flare ups in Japan over the allowance of US submarines carrying nuclear warheads in Tokyo bay. ( I think technically it isn’t allowed, but the government turns a blind eye to it)
Much of it is definitely the result of the atom bomb in the war - but don’t forget they suffered a higher number of casualties from the fire bombing of Tokyo (I think that resulted in more deaths than any other bombing campaign of the war), and their Self Defence Force (SDF) is probably better resourced than a lot of standing armies. So, there is a tension in position there.
Part of it is also an economic one - like much of Europe, Japan has been able to keep its defence costs down by taking advantage of the US presence there.
Cross posting with the US Politics thread, but it turns out the Brown University shooter, now dead, is alleged to have killed this guy as well. The killer was Portuguese too and studied physics undergrad at the same portuguese university as this guy. No confirmation on the motives, but there is at least a personal connection here and if you squint you can piece together a motive around disgruntlement of his own failed studies (a former colleague, shooting up the building that houses the department he failed out of)
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I didn’t mean it in any form or way as a personal stab and really tried my best to write that it was really not. For me it’s quite uncomfortable writing what I did, but I had a strong sense that I really ought to since no one else did, since it gained such traction. And when I do that, I have to explain why and then it becomes a bit uncomfortable for both me and you and I am sorry about that. I really am. Please don’t think I tried to pick on you or something like that.
And of course we all are faliable ! 
You are the best, Maria !
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I think you’re right but I would imagine that the majority would be aginst the idea of Japan having nuclear weapons. That is until there’s a direct threat against Japan which would quickly change people’s minds, I think.
@Bekloppt it needs to borne in mind that Japan’s post-war constitution was largely the work of the victors of the Pacific War. Subsequently, generations of Japanese have grown up with a pacifist mind-set and because of Hiroshima and Nagasaki they tend to see themselves as the victims. There has been no national admission of guilt for what Japan did in the war, unlike there was in Germany.
I still don’t think Japan would arm itself with nuclear weapons unless it was an imminent matter of survival. But what do I know?
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All cool @Magnus 
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Godfather movies are real
https://x.com/BBCSteveR/status/2002265652795748655
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I would like to note, that you cannot arm yourself with nuclear weapons if a treath is imminent and that this is the likely reason why there is such preperatory leaks for future discussion.
After even a high tech state like Japan decided politically to have such weapons, it would take a minimum 2-3 years before they materialise. So it’s useless if the threat must be imminent, because then it would be far too late. It is only useful to go for if a threat of war is seen as “likely” or “highly likely” without them.
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The threats are pretty clear and the disappearance of the US as a reliable ally makes the situation inevitable.
I’m against nuclear weapons in general, but it would be difficult to argue against the case for Japan defending itself.
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It seems that Japan getting nukes won’t be happening anytime soon according to this article in the Japan Times. Nonetheless, the current Prime Minister has stated that she thinks it might become necessary for Japan to have nuclear weapons.
Takaichi’s decision not to explicitly endorse the principles was notable considering she wrote in her 2024 book “Kokuryoku Kenkyu” (National Strength Research) that not allowing nuclear weapons’ introduction into Japan “is unrealistic if we expect the U.S. to offer us ‘extended deterrence,” a reference to the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
“I’m concerned that the phrase ‘upholding the three non-nuclear principles’ could become an obstacle if we were to face an extreme crisis,” she wrote.
Asked Friday about possible revisions to the three principles, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a news conference that the government was committed to upholding them as a policy guideline, but said that all options would be discussed.
“It is only natural for us to explore all options without ruling any out and to engage in discussions to protect the lives and peaceful livelihoods of the Japanese people,” he said.
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The fire in Switzerland that killed 40, footage has emerged of someone trying to put the flames out right after it started.
Footage contains at least a handful of other kids standing around filming it on their phone…
FML
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This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a selfie.
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Good start…
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It’s horrifying. They’re all very young and just standing there like zombies. God knows how many of them made it out…
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40 dead, but also 115 heavily injured, most of them with horrible wounds because of being heavily burnt all over their bodies. Apparently, many weared these trendy, but easily inflammable nylon clothes…
This is without a doubt one of the biggest tragedies in my country, at least during my lifetime.
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To be fair they might be correct.
Any muslim opening their mouth to say anything is automatically antisemitic.
The bigger issue for me is who is the moronic dickhead that came up with the idea of attaching sparklers to champaign bottles to wave around like twats?