Abe pressured to amend its pacifist policy

NK missiles ‘fell closer than ever’ to Japan

TOKYO: Days after Kim Jong-un’s regime launched a volley of four missiles into waters near Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration is under pressure to consider obtaining the capability to destroy military targets in North Korea and other nations.

Hemmed in by a 70-year-old pacifist constitution, Japan has avoided arming itself with long-range missiles or bomber aircraft, instead relying on the US for the protection of its “nuclear umbrella”. But Japan is now describing its unstable neighbour as presenting a new level of threat, emboldening lawmakers seeking change.

“We should not rule out any method from consideration,” Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said in parliament yesterday, when asked about long-range strike capability.

“We don’t have that capacity now and we have no plan to obtain it. Japan should use the deterrent effect of its alliance with the US to prevent any such attack becoming necessary,” she said.

The Japanese government believes one of the missiles test-fired by North Korea may have come closer to its coast than any other launched by Pyongyang in the past.

The missile fell into the Sea of Japan around 20km north-northwest of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.

“The latest launch again clearly shows that North Korea’s threat is at a new phase,” Mr Suga said.

“The government will continue to closely coordinate with the United States, South Korea and other related countries to strongly urge North Korea to exercise restraint.”

Concerning the type of the missile, Mr Suga said they are presumed to be an improved version of a Scud type or the Scud-Extended Range variation, which has a maximum range of 1,000km.

Three of the four landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, a 200 nautical mile offshore zone where the country has sovereign rights to explore and manage natural resources, according to the government.

The missile launch followed one by North Korea in mid-February. The reclusive state fired more than 20 ballistic missiles last year alone.

North Korea’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency said the launches on Monday, overseen by Mr Kim, involved artillery units tasked with striking US bases in Japan.

Japan already has SM-3 and PAC-3 interceptors, which are aimed at halting incoming missiles. The government is also considering adopting the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or Thaad, that the US has begun to deploy in South Korea, but it could take years before any equipment is installed.

It is unclear how these defensive systems would cope with a barrage of missiles known as a “saturation attack”.

“We may not be able to defend ourselves if North Korea launches a lot of missiles at once,” Democratic Party lawmaker Yuichi Goto said in parliament. “I don’t understand why you don’t start” researching long-range strike capability.

Narushige Michishita, a former Japanese defense ministry official, holds a similar view.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to spend more money on Thaad,” said Mr Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. “I would rather go for acquiring better strike capability in order to strike a good balance between offence and defence.”

The debate is heating up as Japan prepares to welcome US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on his first visit to Japan next week.

Mr Tillerson will meet Mr Abe and North Korea will be an important topic of discussion, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday.

Japan’s concerns about its alliance with the US under President Donald Trump were to some extent assuaged by the friendly reception he offered Mr Abe when he visited last month. But some lawmakers say Japan should become more self-reliant in defence terms to avoid the uncertainty created each time the US administration changes.

“We need to get things ready so that we are not in a panic if America’s thinking suddenly changes,” former defence minister Itsunori Onodera said in an interview in January.