Aso keen to explore nukes but Abe says debate is 'finished'

Foreign Minister Taro Aso tried to generate debate Wednesday on acquiring nuclear weapons, saying the nation should openly discuss the possibility in light of North Korea's atomic test last week.

The comment followed a similar one made over the weekend by Shoichi Nakagawa, a top official in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who suggested Tokyo explore the taboo "because countries with nuclear weapons don't get attacked."

Aso said Japan has no plans to stray from the pacifist postwar policy of not possessing, developing or allowing nuclear weapons on Japanese soil, marking at least the third official reiteration of government policy this week. He then insisted on talking about it.

"When a neighboring country is going to have nuclear weapons, one can refuse to even consider the matter," he told a Diet committee. "But I think it is important to discuss the issue."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared last week that Japan, the only nation to have suffered nuclear attacks, would not change its antinuclear policy, despite North Korea's detonation of an atomic device on Oct. 9.

Aso, however, suggested to the committee that it was odd the nation has never openly discussed the political taboo.

Abe said later Wednesday that Japan would not build a nuclear bomb and that debate on that policy is "finished."

Nakagawa was forced to clarify his opposition to nuclear weapons Monday, and his comments spurred Abe into making more reassurances.

Japan has the knowledge -- and enough plutonium and uranium -- to easily develop nuclear weapons if it wants to, analysts say.

Such a move, however, would be strongly opposed by China and other countries in the region. U.S. officials have also expressed concerns about an Asian arms race.