Overview
- The PLA Rocket Force published a study that models a single, low‑yield nuclear attack on a major Chinese city and finds that such a targeted strike is a plausible contingency that cities should plan for.
- Researchers used Hiroshima data and international simulations to map likely casualty patterns and described hazardous conditions, complex multi‑trauma injuries, and risks of public disorder that would strain hospitals.
- The report calls for rapid expansion of treatment capacity, specialised training for medical teams, ready stockpiles of antibiotics and radiation‑protection gear, and stronger public education on radiation safety.
- Beijing explicitly flagged Tokyo as a “major danger signal,” citing Japan’s non‑accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and discussion of changing its three non‑nuclear principles.
- The study says large‑scale nuclear war remains unlikely but warns that smaller nuclear states or terrorist actors could carry out single attacks, a finding that could drive deeper civil‑defence investment and sharpen China–Japan diplomatic tensions.