The super weapon, the paper tiger and Godzilla: a trilateral dialogue on nuclear weapons

Abstract

The United States, China, and Japan responded to the Cold War with three distinct orientations towards nuclear weapons. The US decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the product of a mentality that did not distinguish between nuclear weapons and conventional weapons. A non-nuclear China refused to capitulate in the face of repeated US nuclear threats, but these were terrifying experiences that prompted China to develop its own nuclear weapons. Japan responded to being the only nation attacked with nuclear weapons by positioning itself as a leading advocate for nuclear disarmament while simultaneously and surreptitiously collaborating with its attacker to prevent Japan from being struck again. The pattern of interaction that developed between these three nations inhibits progress towards nuclear arms control and disarmament. Changing that pattern by facilitating a more equitable trilateral dialogue on nuclear weapons may remove this inhibition.