China has issued a stern diplomatic warning to Japan regarding concerning statements from senior officials about potentially acquiring nuclear weapons, characterizing them as a dangerous provocation against the postwar international order. The remarks came during a regular press briefing by Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Monday, December 22, 2025.
Lin expressed profound shock at claims from a high-ranking Japanese official advocating for nuclear weapons possession and comments from Japan’s defense minister suggesting a review of the nation’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles. The spokesman emphasized that Japan, as a non-nuclear weapon party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, bears unequivocal obligations under international law to refrain from receiving, manufacturing, acquiring, or transferring nuclear weapons.
The Chinese spokesperson dismissed suggestions that these statements represented merely personal views, asserting they reveal alarming ambitions among Japan’s right-wing forces pursuing remilitarization. Lin warned that allowing these factions to develop powerful offensive weapons, including nuclear capabilities, would inevitably cause grave harm to the international community, echoing historical tragedies.
In a related development, China simultaneously protested an unauthorized visit to Taiwan by a senior member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Lin condemned this violation of the one-China principle, citing breaches of bilateral political documents and Japan’s own commitments to China. The spokesman demanded immediate corrective actions, including the retraction of what he termed erroneous remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Lin concluded that Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party authorities would find no success in seeking independence through alignment with Japanese interests, characterizing such efforts as disgraceful acts leading only to diplomatic dead ends.