Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Agreed, like N. Korea you think Iran is working very closely with the Russians on the propaganda front when it comes to nuclear issues, so do I. But when it comes to China and North Korea the Japan factor changes things. This is something I did not consider, China’s preference for a neutral Japan.

China's support for North Korea has backfired. What would China prefer to see -- a Japan armed with nuclear weapons, or Japan's alliance with the United States strengthened by its participation in missile defense? In Beijing, neither option has much appeal. But in relation to Japan, China has been hoisted with its own petard.

That's because a sea change in Japan's security outlook is being wrought by China's quasi-ally, North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is rattling his missiles and bragging that he has nuclear weapons. Not surprisingly, Japan is rapidly abandoning its long-standing delusion that its security problems can be ignored, or left to others to resolve.

No doubt, China would prefer a neutral Japan that it could dominate by virtue of size, proximity and demographic weight. Indeed, immediately after the Cold War, that outcome seemed possible. Many Japanese were inclined to think that "it's all economics now," and thus saw no danger in deferring to China as East Asia's rapidly rising economic power. Moreover, "multilateralism" became the code word for those who urged greater independence from America. That played into Beijing's hands by suggesting that U.S. alliances in East Asia were no longer needed.
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Thus we have the United States urging Japan to rethink its collective defense ban.
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Meanwhile, another defense official said he was not sure if a missile defense system Japan and the United States are to introduce can be guaranteed to intercept ballistic missiles fired from North Korea or other potentially hostile countries, at least initially.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040328wo41.htm

What one must consider is Chinese missiles are believed to be capable of hitting U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan.
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Therefore Japans defensive measures are not only the consequence of North Korea’s nuclear program but also China’s agenda.