Growing geopolitical risk stoking East Asian nuclear concerns, says expert

Narushige Michishita says Beijing may use small nuclear bombs in any Taiwan war

20231117 Narushige Michishita professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

If China attacks Taiwan, it will "highly likely use its nuclear threat ... to urge Japan to remain neutral," says East Asian security expert Narushige Michishita.

TORU TSUNASHIMA, Nikkei staff writer

November 19, 2023 11:00 JST

TOKYO -- Geopolitical risk is growing in East Asia as China and North Korea push ahead with nuclear weapons programs, driving debate over whether other parts of the region should develop their own atomic arsenals.

In South Korea, for example, anxiety about the effectiveness of a so-called nuclear umbrella guaranteed by the U.S. has increased calls for the nation to "go nuclear," Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and an expert on East Asian security, told Nikkei.