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China Warns Japan Playing With Fire Over Nuclear Weapons Ambitions — AI-generated representative image: A government building in Tokyo under an overcast sky, illustrating the diplomatic tensions over Japan's nuclear policy debate

Editorial Team

Beijing and Moscow oppose Tokyo remilitarization and nuclear weapons debate, warning of a regional arms race

China's ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, has warned that Japan is "playing with fire" over its nuclear policy, saying Beijing and Russia share firm opposition to Tokyo's accelerating remilitarization and growing debate over acquiring nuclear weapons. The warning, published Thursday in an article by the TASS news agency, cautioned that any Japanese decision to build nuclear arms could trigger a new arms race in Northeast Asia.

The remarks underscore rising regional tensions as Japan, under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, reexamines long-standing security doctrines that have defined its post-war posture. The debate carries particular weight because Japan is the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, making any shift toward nuclear capability a highly sensitive issue with implications for the strategic balance across Northeast Asia.

Shared Opposition From Beijing and Moscow

Zhang said Moscow and Beijing had reached a "high degree of consensus" over Japan and that both countries "consider it necessary to remain highly vigilant and firmly oppose Japan's accelerated remilitarization and its pursuit of nuclear weapons." He warned that if Tokyo decides to create its own nuclear weapons, the strategic balance in Northeast Asia will be completely disrupted, and "a nuclear arms race in the region could erupt at any moment."

The envoy added that if Japan's right-wing forces continue to "play with fire on nuclear policy, the Japanese will ultimately once again find themselves in the dock of history." Zhang also accused Japanese leadership of hiding nuclear ambitions behind the country's status as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, saying it had begun "dangerous experiments in nuclear policy" while trying to revive "the spirit of militarism."

Shift in Japan's Security Debate

The warning follows reports that, in December 2025, a senior official involved in devising Prime Minister Takaichi's security policy argued that Japan should consider acquiring nuclear weapons because the US nuclear umbrella is becoming increasingly unreliable. "In the end, we can only rely on ourselves," the official was quoted as saying.

Publicly, Takaichi has stressed that Japan still adheres to its three non-nuclear principles, a long-time policy stating that Tokyo will not possess, produce or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. However, she has questioned the latter principle, while Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has argued that "one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons," adding that the issue should be discussed "without any taboos."

Plutonium Stockpile and Russian Reactions

Zhang pointed to Japan's nuclear capabilities, noting that the country possesses about 44.4 tons of separated civilian plutonium. "This amount is sufficient for the production of approximately 5,500 nuclear warheads," he said. "Given the desire and appropriate capabilities, Japan becoming a nuclear power no longer looks like fantasy."

Russia has voiced similar concerns. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called the debate over revising Japan's non-nuclear principles a "serious signal," while Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko warned that abandoning the policy would worsen security in Northeast Asia.

What Lies Ahead

Japan has not announced any formal change to its non-nuclear principles, and Prime Minister Takaichi has publicly reaffirmed adherence to them. However, the growing internal debate within Japan's leadership, combined with warnings from both Beijing and Moscow, suggests the issue will remain a focal point of regional diplomacy. No concrete policy decision has been confirmed, and further developments are awaited.