The Pacifist State in Crisis: How Should Japan Deal with North Korea?

In July, 2006, North Korea conducted long range missile tests, and three months later, detonated a nuclear device. These incidents alerted Japan to the immediate threat of a nuclear capable North Korea. According to the theory of realism, Japan should militarize and obtain nuclear weapons to deter North Korea from continuing its nuclear program. Will Japan become a nuclear state? This paper examines how Japan reacted to the security crisis, and how Japan may act against military threats in the future. To investigate the current domestic debates on Japanese security issues, this study conducted a survey of the fifty-five Japanese Diet members in August, 2006. The survey analyzed diplomatic tools that Japan utilized against North Korea, and explored the future options of Japanese security policy. The survey findings showed that (1) United Nations resolutions and economic/financial sanctions are the most effective diplomatic efforts against a military threat from North Korea; (2) an uncertainty about the close relationship between China and North Korea; (3) conducting active Japanese foreign policy would be possible in some multilateral frameworks; and (4) the establishment of good relationships with other Asian nations is vital for Japanese national interests. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]