In Brief... World News Review: Japan Considers Preemptive Strike on North Korea

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In Brief... World News Review: Japan Considers Preemptive Strike on North Korea






article by Darris McNeely, Mike Bennett





If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack... there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense.







After North Korea's provocative missile tests in early July, Japan said it was considering whether a preemptive strike on North Korea's missile bases would violate its constitution.



According to Mari Yamaguchi (AP, July 10), several government officials openly discussed whether the country ought to take steps to better defend itself, including setting up the legal framework to allow Japan to launch a preemptive strike.



"If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack... there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense. We need to deepen discussion," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.



"With all of Japan easily within range of North Korean missiles, an opinion poll conducted by Japan's NHK television showed that 82 percent of respondents in Japan said they felt 'fearful' or 'somewhat fearful' of the seven or more missiles that North Korea shot into the Sea of Japan on July 4," reported Anthony Faiola in the Washington Post July 11.



Japan's constitution, written after World War II, prohibits the use of military force, though Japan does maintain a 240,000-strong self-defense force.



However, AP quoted a Japanese Defense Agency spokeswoman as saying Japan has no attacking weapons such as ballistic missiles that could reach North Korea. Its forces only have ground-to-air missiles and ground-to-vessel missiles, she said on condition of anonymity.



For their part, North Korea scoffed at the UN Security Council resolution asking it to quit launching missiles and return to six-party talks. "The vicious, hostile policy of the U.S. and the irresponsibility of the UN Security Council have created an extremely dangerous situation on the Korean Peninsula," said a North Korean Foreign Ministry statement ( The Week, July 28, 2006).



—Sources: AP, The Week, WashingtonPost.com

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High Cost of Miscalculation

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High Cost of Miscalculation

Wednesday, February 6, 2013 (All day) China and Japan's dispute over little known islands could create bigger problems if not handled wisely.

[Darris McNeely] I've been reading recently a book about World War I and how it began and of course how it developed. How it began was over a very seemingly insignificant event: an assassination of an Archduke in a little unknown nation of Serbia. Drew in all the great powers of Europe, the United States, and Japan and ignited World War I. That was nearly 100 years ago. Fast forward to today and the world hasn't changed very much.



An interesting article in today's Financial Times (February 5, 2013) with this cartoon that's showing the dust up that is continuing between China and Japan over some islands in the Pacific known by Japan as the Senkaku Islands. China calls them the Diaoyu Islands. They've been fighting over these islands and the possession of them for a number of years. There's some oil, petroleum that's involved in that and other natural resources that both want to claim. And what's interesting about this as well is that the United States is bound by a treaty obligation with Japan to protect them or to come in with them in the event of a conflict over these islands with China, which again is very much like what happened in World War I, drawing in all of those great powers.



You have to look at this and you have to wonder why in the world and how something like that could happen. Well, there's a number of events that are coming together in this. China is on the rise. Some say that by 2016 they will overtake the United States as the dominant economic power in the world. Whether or not that happens and the impact of it is yet to be seen. In Japan, the current Prime Minister is not quite as apologetic over Japan's part in World War II like Japan has been in the past. And so there's a little bit more belligerency and hesitancy about apologizing for its past, which is creating again the tension and the conflict here. America is there. Other powers could be drawn into it.



Very interesting situation that could actually result in a high cost of miscalculation just like World War I, but this is 2013. This is the world today, and yes, things like that can happen once again.



It reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.



See All... to the question put to Him by His disciples, what would be the signs of Your coming and the end of the age? And He mentioned wars and rumors of wars. We've always lived with that, but we see the potential for major conflicts happening over events that teach us lessons from history. And we need to be aware and watching and understanding what's taking place in this part of the world and on our global scene.



That's Beyond Today Daily . Join us next time.

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