As long as Japan believes in the strength of the U.S.'s so-called "extended deterrence" guarantee it is unlikely to see any merit in having its own nuclear weapons capability.
For this reason, both countries work tirelessly to ensure the credibility and durability of their defence partnership -- an immeasurably important aim.
Despite what many may think, the Abe administration sees the new security bill as part of this broader effort to contribute to a two-way military relationship -- not as a legal green light for offensive action.
The bill creates the framework for Japan to give as much to the relationship as it receives, by enabling it to come to the aid of the United States if necessary.
More than anything else, history is likely to undermine any temptation Japan might have to build a bomb.
Japan was the first and only country to ever be attacked with nuclear weapons.
Over 100,000 Japanese citizens were killed in the August 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Seventy years on, Japan's nuclear history will not be forgotten any time soon.
Indeed, it is because of that history that Japan has become one of the most active signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Tokyo has invested significant resources into preventing the illegal spread of nuclear weapons-relevant materials and technology, promoting the conditions needed for nuclear disarmament, and reminding the world of the grotesque effects of the use of an atomic bomb.
The non-proliferation norm is one that Japan will have little incentive to abandon in the short, medium, or likely even in the long-term.
Contrary to the suggestions of some watching legislative developments in Japan, the new security bill is not going to change that.