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09-27-2006, 05:16 AM
N. Korea: Japan’s Nuclear Wildcard
By Dale Hurd, reporter
By Sarah Hoffman, producer
- TOKYO, Japan - Imagine if you lived only a few miles away from a homicidal dictator who had missiles pointed in your direction, knowing that one day those missiles could literally carry a nuclear weapon into your back yard.
That's what life is like for millions of Japanese living in the shadow of Kim Jong Il's North Korea.
Japan, a nation with a savage history of war, has today elevated peace to the status of a religion.
At the Yasukuni shrine, the souls of Japanese soldiers are believed to return, and heroes as well as war criminals are revered as gods.
The shrine has become the symbol of a nation struggling to figure out how to honor the past without repeating it, and how to protect itself from a potential threat on the other side of the Sea of Japan: North Korea.
In July, North Korea launched several test missiles into the Sea of Japan. They fell only miles from one of America's closest allies, home to 50,000 U.S. military and almost 130 million Japanese.
Some Japanese residents have expressed their concern:
"I have no idea what the North Korean leaders are actually thinking, so there's actually a possibility that they could attack."
"Yes, I am very scared."
"I am very worried, and I think there's a huge possibility of an attack."
"I am scared we'll all get killed."
Ryouchi Dohi is a member of the Japanese parliament. He says if North Korea feels sufficiently threatened, people's fears could come to pass.
Dohi said, "There's an old Japanese saying, 'If a cat corners a rat and the cat is really serious about pouncing on the rat, and the rat feels threatened, he will jump and bite the cat.'"
Dohi has taken his own unique approach to solving the problem. A pastor for 40 years, he recently traveled to South Korea to meet with Christian parliament members there and pray for divine intervention against war with North Korea.
The wildcard in this high stakes poker game is North Korean dictator Kim Jong II, who routinely flaunts his country's nuclear potential.
John Tkacik, Jr., Senior Research Fellow with The Heritage Foundation, said, "You are facing a national leader who is a megalomaniac, who is impulsive, who has very little concern for the welfare of his people."
But Japan is limited by its own constitution, drafted after World War II, which states that the Japanese will never "use the threat or use of force" to settle international disputes.
And to make sure the country is not tempted to pick a fight, Article Nine of the constitution forbids "land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential" to ever be maintained.
But through a very liberal interpretation of its constitution, the Japanese have built the Japan Defense Agency and Self-Defense Force.
This has led to some suggesting that Japan should launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, an idea most Japanese find horrifying, given their bloody history. There've even been murmurings in Japan about becoming a nuclear power, although all the Japanese that CBN News talked with said that Japan should never go nuclear.
Taro Kono, a Diet Parliament member, said, "It's not worth it, and I don't think it's necessary. If we have the nuclear weapons, I think China will build up. South Korea may even start thinking about going nuclear. It would trigger nuclear competition in North East Asia, and it just doesn't do any good to anyone in this region. So I don't think it's an option."
But Tkacik says it is time for Japan to step up to the plate and bolster its defenses even more.
"What does Japan need, do you ask?" Tkacik said, "Japan has to develop a very robust missile defense system, missile defense network in the North East, West Pacific North East Asian corridor."
In fact, Japan now spends more money on its military than most countries: around $50 billion a yea, far outstripping countries better known for their militaries - like Britain, and despite the fact that by treaty, the U.S. is supposed to defend Japan, not the Japanese.
"The U.S.-Japan mutual security treaty obliges the United States to defend Japan, against all attacks from the outside," said Tkacik.
But would the U.S. military, stretched thin by the war on terror, really be able to defend Japan?
Dohi said, "I don't think America would have the means or the leeway (to intervene). And if America did get involved, it's just going to create confusion among the Asian countries."
Defense experts agree that Japan must do more to defend itself, whether the Japanese think they're ready or not.
www.cbn.com
By Dale Hurd, reporter
By Sarah Hoffman, producer
- TOKYO, Japan - Imagine if you lived only a few miles away from a homicidal dictator who had missiles pointed in your direction, knowing that one day those missiles could literally carry a nuclear weapon into your back yard.
That's what life is like for millions of Japanese living in the shadow of Kim Jong Il's North Korea.
Japan, a nation with a savage history of war, has today elevated peace to the status of a religion.
At the Yasukuni shrine, the souls of Japanese soldiers are believed to return, and heroes as well as war criminals are revered as gods.
The shrine has become the symbol of a nation struggling to figure out how to honor the past without repeating it, and how to protect itself from a potential threat on the other side of the Sea of Japan: North Korea.
In July, North Korea launched several test missiles into the Sea of Japan. They fell only miles from one of America's closest allies, home to 50,000 U.S. military and almost 130 million Japanese.
Some Japanese residents have expressed their concern:
"I have no idea what the North Korean leaders are actually thinking, so there's actually a possibility that they could attack."
"Yes, I am very scared."
"I am very worried, and I think there's a huge possibility of an attack."
"I am scared we'll all get killed."
Ryouchi Dohi is a member of the Japanese parliament. He says if North Korea feels sufficiently threatened, people's fears could come to pass.
Dohi said, "There's an old Japanese saying, 'If a cat corners a rat and the cat is really serious about pouncing on the rat, and the rat feels threatened, he will jump and bite the cat.'"
Dohi has taken his own unique approach to solving the problem. A pastor for 40 years, he recently traveled to South Korea to meet with Christian parliament members there and pray for divine intervention against war with North Korea.
The wildcard in this high stakes poker game is North Korean dictator Kim Jong II, who routinely flaunts his country's nuclear potential.
John Tkacik, Jr., Senior Research Fellow with The Heritage Foundation, said, "You are facing a national leader who is a megalomaniac, who is impulsive, who has very little concern for the welfare of his people."
But Japan is limited by its own constitution, drafted after World War II, which states that the Japanese will never "use the threat or use of force" to settle international disputes.
And to make sure the country is not tempted to pick a fight, Article Nine of the constitution forbids "land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential" to ever be maintained.
But through a very liberal interpretation of its constitution, the Japanese have built the Japan Defense Agency and Self-Defense Force.
This has led to some suggesting that Japan should launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, an idea most Japanese find horrifying, given their bloody history. There've even been murmurings in Japan about becoming a nuclear power, although all the Japanese that CBN News talked with said that Japan should never go nuclear.
Taro Kono, a Diet Parliament member, said, "It's not worth it, and I don't think it's necessary. If we have the nuclear weapons, I think China will build up. South Korea may even start thinking about going nuclear. It would trigger nuclear competition in North East Asia, and it just doesn't do any good to anyone in this region. So I don't think it's an option."
But Tkacik says it is time for Japan to step up to the plate and bolster its defenses even more.
"What does Japan need, do you ask?" Tkacik said, "Japan has to develop a very robust missile defense system, missile defense network in the North East, West Pacific North East Asian corridor."
In fact, Japan now spends more money on its military than most countries: around $50 billion a yea, far outstripping countries better known for their militaries - like Britain, and despite the fact that by treaty, the U.S. is supposed to defend Japan, not the Japanese.
"The U.S.-Japan mutual security treaty obliges the United States to defend Japan, against all attacks from the outside," said Tkacik.
But would the U.S. military, stretched thin by the war on terror, really be able to defend Japan?
Dohi said, "I don't think America would have the means or the leeway (to intervene). And if America did get involved, it's just going to create confusion among the Asian countries."
Defense experts agree that Japan must do more to defend itself, whether the Japanese think they're ready or not.
www.cbn.com