Will China's warships trigger arms race with Japan?

13 November 2012 Last updated at 23:11 ET Help

After two months of Chinese incursions into Japanese-controlled waters in the East China Sea, President Hu Jintao has stated explicitly that China intends to become a maritime military power.

There is growing alarm in Japan, and growing support for right-wing politicians. Some of them are calling for a radical reassessment of relations with China - even for Japan to develop a nuclear deterrent.

Rupert Wingfield Hayes reports from Tokyo.

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