With China flexing its naval power across the Pacific and bilateral tensions running high, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is weighing a move long viewed as taboo – nuclear-powered submarines for the Maritime Self-Defence Force fleet.
“We will seriously consider [the possibility] in a concrete and realistic manner,” Takaichi told the Japanese parliament on October 14.
Yet with Tokyo set to revise its core security documents by year’s end, the proposal is dividing the ruling coalition.
The Japan Innovation Party – the junior coalition partner – wants nuclear propulsion introduced quickly, while some lawmakers from Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party are asking whether the military benefits justify the high costs and legal hurdles.