Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

NUCLEAR ENERGY • 193
traditionally have not looked favorably upon his efforts to avert war
between the two nations throughout the Japanese–American negotiations
of 1941, more recently a revisionist literature has emerged that
portrays Nomura as a positive activist for peace. In any case, Nomura
was handicapped throughout his ambassadorial posting by, first,
Tokyo’s increasingly obstreperous determination to go it alone in the
Far East, and second, the United States’ ever-increasing resolve to resist
that development. See also PACIFIC WAR.
NUCLEAR ENERGY. On 28 April 1952, the San Francisco Peace
Treaty came into effect. In the following month, the Liberal Party led
by Shigeru Yoshida unveiled a plan to establish the Science and Technology
Agency to carry out research and development into high-tech
weapons and nuclear energy. In March 1954, the Diet approved
Japan’s first nuclear budget (250 million yen), opening the door for
nuclear development in Japan. The Lucky Dragon (Daigo Fukuryumaru)
Incident had already occurred on 1 March 1954, but the
Japanese people were not aware of it before the nuclear budget was
passed. Nevertheless, because of this incident, Japan took more cautious
nuclear energy policies. In December 1955, the Atomic Energy
Basic Law was enacted, including the three principles of peaceful
utilization of nuclear energy. Based on this law, the Science and
Technology Agency was established in April 1956.
On 7 May, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi stated in the Upper
House that within the right of self-defense, it would be possible to
have nuclear weapons. On 2 March 1959, in the Upper House Budget
Committee, he also indicated that, in his judgment, it is constitutional
to have small nuclear weapons for defense. In 1960, the
Nobusuke Kishi Cabinet established an official policy that possessing
nuclear weapons is constitutional.
On 11 December 1967, the Lower House Budget Committee,
Prime Minister Eisaku Sato presented the three non-nuclear principles
of not producing, not possessing, and not allowing the entry of
nuclear weapons into the country. In his administrative policy speech
in January 1968, Prime Minister Sato confirmed these three nonnuclear
principles.
In order to make Japan less dependent on energy imports, the government
promoted research and development of nuclear energy. However,
in December 1995, Monju, Japan’s only fast breeder reactor,