Japan has enough plutonium to make 5.500 nuclear warheads — Chinese ambassador

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Japan has several tens of tons of plutonium, which is enough to manufacture some 5,500 nuclear warheads, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an article for TASS. "Another serious concern is Japan’s nuclear potential. Japan is the only non-nuclear signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that possesses spent nuclear fuel recycling technologies and is capable of extracting weapons-grade plutonium. As of late 2024, Japan had 44.4 tons of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel. This much is enough to manufacture around 5,500 nuclear warheads. In addition, its spent nuclear fuel storage facilities contain another 191 tons of unextracted plutonium," he noted. "If Japan has the will and the necessary capabilities, its transformation into a nuclear power no longer looks like a fantasy," the Chinese ambassador emphasized. "The Three Non-Nuclear Principles, established in 1971, have been remaining the cornerstone of the Japanese government's nuclear policy ever since."