Rumiko Seya, Secretary General of the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention

Possessing nuclear weapons: reasons include display of power, self-defense, diplomatic trump card

August 6 is approaching again. For this issue, I'd like to look at war and conflict in the world with a focus on nuclear weapons in terms of the relationship between Hiroshima and the world.

Rumiko Seya

Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1977. Graduated from Chuo University and received an MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford in the UK. Specialist in post-conflict peacebuilding and reintegration of ex-combatants into society. In the past she held various positions in conflict areas, such as NGO staff (Rwanda), UN volunteer (Sierra Leone), Special Assistant to the Ambassador (Japanese Embassy, Afghanistan), and UN Peacekeeping Operations staff (Côte d'Ivoire). She became Secretary General of the JCCP in April 2007.

JCCP's website http://www.jccp.gr.jp/

When I was a university student I went to Rwanda in order to find out about conflict in the world, and I visited Hiroshima and Okinawa, too, because I wanted to think about war in Japan. The things that happened in those places are completely different, but I think they have one point in common.

Nuclear weapons are weapons that destroy thousands of people at one time and are called weapons of mass destruction, alongside chemical weapons and biological weapons. Nuclear weapons were developed during World War II and have only been used against Japan in real war. I imagine you have had many opportunities to learn how more than 200,000 people were killed when two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

According to some people in the U.S., the circumstances in which the bombs were dropped were Japan's refusal to surrender, the ability the bomb gave them to end the war quickly, and beyond that, the desire to prevent the continuing destruction of a longer war. In the battles of Iwo Jima (recently the setting of a Hollywood film), and Okinawa, Japanese resistance, and counterattacks by the Japanese navy caused more casualties than expected.

Then again, others argue that America used the atomic bombs to demonstrate its status as a great power and take on the role of world leader in the post-war world.

The devastation of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the bombing, about 250 meters east of the hypocenter. (Photo by Yotsugi Kawahara on August 9, 1945)

In the Cold War period, two superpowers, the U.S. and the former USSR didn't fight each other directly, but instead they escalated the nuclear arms race by producing and possessing a large quantity of nuclear weapons in order to demonstrate their power.

Afterwards, many other countries undertook nuclear weapons development. At present, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China (these five countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council) possess nuclear weapons, and India and Pakistan have them, too. North Korea is said to be developing nuclear weapons.

The destructive power of nuclear weapons was clearly demonstrated both in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If a nuclear weapon were ever used, condemnation from countries all over the world would be inevitable, so it is said that nuclear weapons "cannot be used" or are "weapons of no use." Moreover, the costs of development are very high. So in spite of that, why do these countries maintain nuclear weapons?

The first reason is for self-defense, so that if one country were attacked by another country, it can demonstrate the ability to respond with nuclear weapons in order to defend itself. For example, neighboring countries India and Pakistan have been fighting each other for a long time. They deter each other from starting a full-scale war through their possession of nuclear weapons. In the case of North Korea, they use their status as a nuclear power as a trump card in diplomacy and negotiations.

On the other hand, major powers such as the U.S., the UK, and Russia have enough military power to protect themselves, both from attack and counterattack, without nuclear weapons. However, these countries keep nuclear weapons because they need to control world security and neighboring countries, whose interests they share, against other nuclear powers. The opinion is that nuclear weapons are necessary to maintain stability and security.

Please think about this issue in the light of the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and on the basis of existing conditions in the world today.