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A Nuclear Japan?
Pyongyang's protectors are reviving Tokyo's military power.Wall Street Journal house editorial No one knows how long it would take Japan to go nuclear, though estimates are days or weeks.* But for 60 years Japan has refrained from becoming a nuclear power and remained militarily quiescent. That particular sun may be rising again, however, thanks to the support by China and South Korea for the military threats of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. This is the meaning of a remarkable, but underreported, comment last week that Japan might want to knock out North Korea's missile bases with a pre-emptive military strike. "If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack . . . there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe. "We need to deepen discussion." The head of Japan's Defense Agency made a similar observation. Article 9 of Japan's 1946 Constitution bars military force in settling international disputes and prohibits Japan from maintaining a military for the purpose of warfare. Even so, Japan has 243,000 men under arms and one of the world's most technologically capable militaries. Only the U.S., Russia and China spend more on defense. The discussion Mr. Abe refers to has already begun--and in part he is only reflecting public opinion. North Korea's first Taepodong missile test, in 1998, shocked many Japanese and elevated national security as a political issue, leading to the election of hawkish Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2001. Virtually every poll since North Korean test also shows overwhelming public anxiety about North Korea and support for a strong response. . . . *- Wikipedia on Japan's M-5 solid-fuelled booster: "There are reports that the M-5 design was modeled after the LG-118A Peacekeeper ICBM which has similar dimensions and payload, and is also a three-stage solid fuel rocket. The M-5 design could certainly be weaponised quickly." Posted by: Mike 2006-07-16 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=159559 |