Japan Defense White Paper: "North Korea's Nuclear and Missile Capabilities Pose Direct Threat"

Unwavering Claims on Dokdo Sovereignty in This Year's Defense White Paper
Japan-South Korea Relations Remain Exposed to Conflict

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] This year, Japan's Defense White Paper emphasized for the first time that North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities pose a direct threat to the country.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Defense White Paper adopted at the Japanese Cabinet meeting (equivalent to our State Council) on the 14th newly included the expression, "North Korea appears to have already acquired the capability to miniaturize and warhead nuclear weapons and mount them on ballistic missiles to attack our country (Japan)." On the same day, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a Cabinet meeting and adopted the 2020 edition of the Defense White Paper titled 'Japan's Defense.'

In this year's Defense White Paper, the Japanese government also claimed that "the territorial issues of the Northern Territories (the Japanese term for the four Kuril Islands) and Takeshima (the name Japan claims for Dokdo) still remain unresolved." The Japanese government continued its provocation of asserting sovereignty over Dokdo, which it has stated since the Koizumi Junichi Cabinet in 2005.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Previously, the Japanese government also asserted sovereignty over Dokdo through its 'Diplomatic Bluebook.' However, some analyses suggest that Japan's assertion of sovereignty over Dokdo in the Defense White Paper implies that the territorial dispute could lead to armed conflict.

Additionally, Japan compiled the White Paper in a way that downplays South Korea's importance. Until 2018, the Japanese Defense White Paper described countries other than the US-Japan alliance in order as Australia, followed by South Korea, India, and others. However, in subsequent Defense White Papers, South Korea appeared after Australia, India, and ASEAN. Considering that the ten ASEAN countries were described individually, South Korea was treated as the 13th country.

In terms of content, unlike the previous year, this year's Defense White Paper omitted phrases such as "we will strive to promote broad defense cooperation between the two countries and confirm the foundation of solidarity," mentioning only that the two countries face issues such as North Korea's nuclear and missile problems.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.