Injecting further imbalance into the problem of (crypto-) atomically armed Korean peninsula.

Japan has the technological know-how to produce a nuclear weapon but has no immediate plans to do so, the foreign minister said Thursday, several weeks after communist North Korea carried out a nuclear test.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who has called for discussion of Japan’s non-nuclear policy, also asserted in parliament that the pacifist constitution does not forbid possession of the bomb.

“Japan is capable of producing nuclear weapons,” Aso told a parliamentary committee on security issues. “But we are not saying we have plans to possess nuclear weapons.”

Japan, the only country ever attacked by atomic weapons, has for decades espoused a strict policy of not possessing, developing or allowing the introduction of nuclear bombs on its territory.

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In a hearing before the lower house of parliament’s Security Committee, Aso reiterated his belief that the constitution’s pacifist clause does not prevent Japan from having nuclear bombs for the purpose of defense.

The constitution’s Article 9 bars Japan from the use of force to settle international disputes.

“Possession of minimum level of arms for defense is not prohibited under the Article 9 of the Constitution,” Aso said. “Even nuclear weapons, if there are any that fall within that limit, they are not prohibited.” Article

Related:

Japan’s lower house of parliament passed a bill to create a cabinet-level defence ministry for the first time since World War II.

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The bill overwhelmingly passed the lower house with support of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition as well as the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

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The bill will be sent to the upper house, where the ruling coalition also enjoys a majority. Abe wants the proposal to be enacted before the current parliament session ends on December 15.

While largely symbolic, the bill will help the military in domestic power wrangling by giving the defence minister a spot in cabinet meetings with the right to make budget requests.

Previous attempts to create a defence ministry stalled over political sensitivities in light of Japan’s past aggression and fears of upsetting neighbouring countries.

Abe, Japan’s first premier born after World War II, vowed to create a defence ministry in his first policy speech after taking over from Junichiro Koizumi in late September.

Abe also supports rewriting the constitution to allow Japan to have a military again in name. Article

Also:

The Japanese military, facing a renewed nuclear threat from neighboring North Korea, successfully launched a new surface-to-air defensive missile Thursday in a remote area of Fort Bliss.

The Chu-SAM missile was launched at McGregor Range, where Japanese forces have been training on their defensive missile systems. The missile is designed to knock down aircraft, air-to-surface missiles and cruise missiles.

North Korea announced a successful underground nuclear test in October, but Thursday’s firing was not in response to that threat, said Japanese Maj. Gen. Masanori Takeda.

Thursday’s launch was the first as part of a live-training exercise. The missile already has been tested six times at nearby White Sands Missile Range. Article

So we have another outcome (and another gross overreaction) of the woebegone and monomaniacal G. Walker administration – accepting and pushing overt militarization (in a region in delicate balance among Japan, Russia, the Koreas and China – with Indonesia and some of the former Soviet entities as additional nearby political teeter-totters) of an economic powerhouse (which, by the way, is also the largest holder of U.S. debt, at over $600 billion).