North Korea’s Threat Pushes Japan to Reassess Its Might and Rights

North Korea’s Threat Pushes Japan to Reassess Its Might and Rights
On Friday, North Korea threatened to “sink” Japanese islands with nuclear weapons, adding that “Japan is no longer needed to exist near us.”
Japan’s position east of North Korea also means that missiles fired by the North toward the
United States, including Guam, almost certainly would have to fly over Japanese territory.
Because if you miss, how does that look?”
North Korea has stated its clear intention to develop nuclear weapons capable of hitting the mainland United States
and has threatened to strike the waters near Guam in the western Pacific with an “enveloping fire.”
Two years ago, Mr. Abe helped push through security legislation
that authorized overseas combat missions by the Japanese military alongside allied troops in the name of “collective self-defense.”
For Japan to participate in such collective action, the new laws say, its own security must also be under threat.
It is also unclear whether the pacifist Constitution allows Japan to shoot down a missile headed for the United States, much less
initiate a pre-emptive attack on a missile on a launchpad in North Korea, as some in Japan believe it should be prepared to do.