Ishiba: Japan to 'Counterattack' if N. Korea Prepares to Attack

January 27, 2003
Yomiuri Shimbun

Japan is constitutionally allowed to "counterattack" by striking North Korean missile bases under the right to self-defense if it determines that Pyongyang is preparing to attack this country, Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba said Friday.

"If North Korea expresses the intention of turning Tokyo into a sea of fire and if it begins preparations (to attack), for instance by fueling (its missiles), we will consider (North Korea) is initiating (a military attack)," Ishiba said at a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee.

A similar statement was made to the Diet by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda in May 2002.

However, Ishiba is the first to identify North Korea as a country Japan might attack under the right to self-defense. "Once North Korea declares it will demolish Tokyo and begins preparing for a missile launch, we will consider it the start of a military attack against Japan," he said.

Ishiba made the remark in response to questions raised by Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) lawmaker Yoshinori Sueyoshi.

Ishiba expressed concern over the speed of North Korea's Rodong ballistic missiles, which he said could reach Japan between "seven minutes and less than 20 minutes" after launch. North Korea reportedly has about 100 Rodong missiles that have all of Japan in their range.

Cabinet Legislation Bureau Director General Osamu Akiyama said it was constitutional for the government to intercept a missile launched in Japan's direction even if the missile's final target was unclear.

"If it's judged to have a significant probability of targeting Japan, it will be considered to have justified our right to self-defense," Akiyama said.

Ishiba's statement on Friday is seen as a government attempt to keep Pyongyang at bay after North Korea threatened to resume ballistic missile tests as the next step in its brinkmanship diplomacy, diplomatic analysts said.

"In North Korea, 100 Rodong missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers are deployed facing Japan. It's perfectly understandable for us to discuss attacking the missile bases, since we are in fact threatened," a senior Foreign Ministry official said Friday concerning Ishiba's statement.

North Korea announced on Jan. 10 it was pulling out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The North Korean ambassador to China on the following day signaled his country would resume test-launching missiles.

Pyongyang launched a Rodong missile across the Sea of Japan in May 1993, two months after announcing a previous withdrawal from the NPT. Diplomatic experts said North Korea often relies on a strategy of raising crisis levels to the maximum in order to win international concessions.

In response, the Japanese government is increasingly cautious about the possible resumption of missile test launches by North Korea.

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