North Korea's underground nuclear test of Oct. 9, which has drawn a flurry of sharp reactions in the international community, has also brought the perennially simmering question of Japan's nuclear option to the surface again.
Shoichi Nakagawa, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Affairs Research Council, rekindled controversy when he said on a popular TV talk-show program Oct. 15 that Japan needs to discuss the nuclear option from every angle for the sake of its peace and security. He stressed, however, adherence to Japan's nonnuclear principle.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso told a Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee session Oct. 25 that although he abides by the nonnuclear principle, it is natural that Japan, facing North Korea with nuclear weapons in its arsenal, should freely debate what had led Japan originally to adopt the nonnuclear principle.