Will a nuclear attack victim become an attacker?

On Aug 6 and 9, Japan observed the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed more than 200,000 people. The two atomic bombs dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, leading to its surrender to the Allied forces on Aug 15, 1945, and ending World War II.

The horrors of the atomic bombings made Japan adopt three principles against nuclear weapons. Delivering a speech in Hiroshima on Aug 6, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, again failed to mention the three anti-nuclear principles - not possessing, not producing and not permitting nuclear weapons. His latest attempts to expand Japan's military role, especially his efforts to push two security bills through parliament, faced stiff criticism from atomic bomb survivors, and the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

As the only country that has suffered atomic bomb attacks, Japan knows the devastating effects of nuclear weapons. But as a fascist power before and during WWII, Japan left a trail of death and destruction in the countries it invaded and/or occupied, including China and (then undivided) Korea.