For his key role in establishing Japan's commitment to nonnuclear principles in 1967, Prime Minister Eisuke Sato went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet it was recently revealed that he privately referred to the three principles as "nonsense" and allowed a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier to enter a Japanese port.
As was the case with Sato, those who now seek to build nuclear and missile defenses in an increasingly insecure world do not offer any credible rationale for the continuing nuclear arms race.
The world is divided into nuclear "haves" and "have-nots." The former group includes the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, who are the only recognized nuclear powers; India and Pakistan, who are declared nuclear powers but not recognized; and Israel and North Korea, who are suspected of possessing nuclear weapons. The "have-nots" include the overwhelming number of NPT signatories, including Japan.