JAUKUS? It could be, politically, argued, that a submarine reactor is peaceful, being similar to a land based reactor, and not weapons related….
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/j...ines-b66xs2plr
Japanese PM candidate backs nuclear submarines
The popular choice to be Japan’s next prime minister believes that the country should acquire nuclear-powered submarines, a move that would drastically increase military tension in east Asia, following the announcement that Australia is to do so.
Taro Kono was speaking during a televised debate among candidates to be the next leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP has a decisive parliamentary majority, meaning that the winner of Wednesday’s party election will be voted in as prime minister next Monday.
“It is very important for Japan to have nuclear submarine capability,” said Kono, 58, yesterday. “The question of whether there are regions willing to accept them as home port, their operational capability, and realistic costs will have to be examined.”
The complexities of the LDP election system, and the fact that three other candidates are running, make the upcoming party election unpredictable and Kono is not guaranteed to win. But he remains the most popular candidate among the general public, and his open support for nuclear submarines, which would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago, is a sign of how quickly old assumptions about defence and security in Asia are changing.
Tokyo has welcomed the formation of Aukus, a defence pact between Britain, the United States and Australia, which will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra. Japan already has 20 diesel-powered submarines and although its defence chiefs would undoubtedly welcome the long-range and stealth of nuclear submarines, compared with Australia their strategic need is not so great.…….
Japan’s nuclear energy law specifies that nuclear power can be used only for peaceful purposes, a stipulation intended to block spent nuclear fuel from being reprocessed into the fuel for nuclear warheads – but which also represents an obstacle to nuclear-powered, conventionally armed, vessels.
Any move to change the law would be met with public anxiety and strong political opposition.