Japan, North Korea, and the USA: Hot Time in The Old Town Tonight

SLEEP WELL

Want something else to worry about. North Korea (DPRK) has told Japan it will "self-destruct" if it proceeds with tomorrow's launch of spy satellites primarily designed to monitor the DPRK It also cut off its dialogue channel with the US military. The North pulled out of regular meetings with the US-led United Nations Command (UNC) and said it could be forced to take another ``measure'' to protest a massive US-South Korean military drill it regards as a nuclear war exercise.

North Korea blasted Japan for the planned launch of a spy satellite tomorrow ``at a time when the United States has designated it [North Korea] as the next target of its attack after the ongoing Iraqi war… If it takes the road of re-invasion, toeing the US policy to stifle the DPRK [North Korea] militarily, Japan will not have its security guaranteed but face self-destruction." North Korea in a statement released by its news agency added, "Lurking behind the Japanese reactionaries' hue and cry over the ‘nuclear threat’ from the DPRK is a sinister intention to realize their ambitions for the conversion of Japan into a military power and overseas expansion under that pretext." Finally, the North Koreans conclude, "The Japanese reactionaries are taking the U.S. escalated moves to put pressure upon the DPRK over its nuclear issue as a good opportunity to realize these ambitions. They are going to reinvade Korea following the lead of the U.S. This is clearly evidenced by their outbursts that Japan may fight a war with North Korea and it should mount a preemptive attack on North Korea backed by the U.S. before Japan turns into a sea of fire."

While such verbosity may seem outlandish, the charges are not without some foundation.

The Japanese Defense Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, has indeed warned that Japan could make a pre-emptive strike if it discovered a threat to Japan from North Korea.

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara during discussions about the North Korean issue said that Japan "should rearm itself" to protect its own airspace and sea. Ishihara, like any shrewd politician, knows how to insinuate. From a strategic point of view, Japan's "air space and sea" could refer to a much more extensive region than its national territory. Ishihara said he supports the U.S. attack on Iraq because "depending on how the world deals with Iraq, North Korea's behavior would change. They will realize that they'll face the same fate." Prior to the beginning of the War Ishihara urged the United States to get on with Iraq "like we did with Pearl Harbor" Ishihara, who has announced that he will seek reelection in next month's gubernatorial election in Tokyo, has left open the possibility of seeking a seat in parliament or forming a party that might propel him into the prime minister's office. The most recent national opinion poll showed him with a 78 percent approval rating, a stunning figure in a nation that roundly scorns its politicians. Ishihara is quite a guy. He has implied that illegal immigrants -- specifically Chinese -- are criminals and likely to go on a rampage after an earthquake. He has gleefully made disparaging remarks about women and seemed to embrace racism. His critics have likened his tactics to Adolph Hitler's. "He's despicable," said Takao Saito, a journalist and author of a recent scathing biography of the man titled "Empty Little Emperor." "He engages in discrimination about everything from sex to race," Saito said. "He wants to bundle up everything he hates."

So go ahead - worry.
Sources: Bangkok Post Korean Central News Agency (DPRK), Mainichi Daily News, Japan Today, Washington Post, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald

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