China's PLA Daily published a rare full-page report on Monday claiming Japan holds an "astonishing" stockpile of nuclear materials and the technology to produce weapons. It stated that Japan had separated 44.4 tonnes of plutonium by the end of 2024, enough for about 5,500 nuclear warheads. The report warned that if Japan fully breaks free from its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, it "could become a de facto nuclear-armed state in an extremely short period of time."
PLA Daily published a rare full-page report on Monday stating that Japan had separated 44.4 tonnes of plutonium by the end of 2024, enough to make about 5,500 nuclear warheads. The report claimed Japan possesses the technology to produce nuclear weapons.
It warned that once Japan fully breaks free from the constraints of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles—not to possess, produce, or allow the introduction of nuclear weapons—it "could become a de facto nuclear-armed state in an extremely short period of time."
According to the report, Japan has "systematically" cultivated its defence industry "under the cover of civilian technology," laying the groundwork for "a strategic shift in defence policy and unleashing its military-industrial potential."
Tokyo allocated a record 17.5 billion yen (US$109.6 million) to its advanced technology transition research programme in 2025—18 times the 2022 amount—aiming to convert civilian tech for military use, the report said.
The claims were reported by the South China Morning Post; no immediate response from Japanese officials was noted in the sources.
