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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| North Korea’s latest missile launch stirs discussion of pre-emptive strikes in Japan |
| 2017-09-03 |
| [SCMP] Japan is debating whether to develop a limited pre-emptive strike capability and buy cruise missiles – ideas that were anathema in the pacifist country before the North Korea missile threat. With revisions to Japan’s defence plans under way, ruling party hawks are accelerating the moves, and some defence experts say Japan should at least consider them. After being on the back burner in the ruling party for decades, a possibility of pre-emptive strike was formally proposed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by his party’s missile defence panel in March, prompting parliamentary debate, though somewhat lost steam as Abe apparently avoided the divisive topic after seeing support ratings for his scandal-laden government plunge. North Korea’s test-firing on Tuesday of a missile, which flew over Japan and landed in the northern Pacific Ocean, has intensified fear and reignited the debate. “Should we possess pre-emptive strike capability?” liberal-leaning Mainichi newspaper asked the following day. “But isn’t it too reckless to jump to discuss a ‘get them before they get you’ approach?” |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 I've always figured the Japanese were not stupid or suicidal and had nukes that just needed final assembly on short notice |
| Posted by: Frank G 2017-09-03 19:31 |
| #8 Begin? They have enough Pu to make 50K warheads! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2017-09-03 16:47 |
| #7 Kimmie can destroy Tokyo. Japan has to live with that fact. I bet they begin to rearm, and develop their own nukes |
| Posted by: John Frum 2017-09-03 15:22 |
| #6 It's always easiest to be a pacifist when no one threatens you. It becomes more difficult when you realize what you have to loose. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2017-09-03 12:58 |
| #5 The SK and Nipponese need to decide to piss or get off the pot. Their mistake was thinking they could count on us. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-09-03 11:03 |
| #4 When one NKorean person insults NKorean government, that person and three generations of that person are sent to death camps. People of higher stature are killed in horrific ways. So the people are completely conquered in NKorea. Dear leader of NKorea loves the most horrific means of inflicting death and he should not be underestimated at what he will do. The more the world threatens him the more he threatens the world. He pays close attention to US news. A few weeks ago it was said in the US news that the US had him in there cross hairs at a missile launch because he was in the open. Ever since, he has been under canopies during launches. He will screw up, the world needs to keep him under pressure until he does give the world an opportunity to finish this. |
| Posted by: Hupeting Sforza8196 2017-09-03 06:01 |
| #3 Japan are the Offended party. They know about nukes and a region that quite conveniently failed in their "diplomacy" Japan has has the COMMS. And I trust them. |
| Posted by: newc 2017-09-03 03:46 |
#2 At the moment new posts seem munged up on the 'Burg, here's the latest bump in the night from North Korea:BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Earthquake Administration said on Sunday it detected a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in North Korea that was a “suspected explosion”. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2017-09-03 01:04 |
| #1 My reading and research is limited, Rantburg and a few others, but to defend pacifists or the undecided, at some point, is not worth American blood. The SK and Nipponese need to decide to piss or get off the pot. |
| Posted by: jvalentour 2017-09-03 00:40 |