Kim Jong Un's Missiles May Be Final Nail for Japan's Pacifism
TOKYO — The two ballistic missiles that North Korea fired over Japan in the past three weeks sent ordinary Japanese citizens scrambling for cover, rattled financial markets and shocked a region long accustomed to a tense peace.
But amid the crisis, one man's stock appears to be rising. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's public approval ratings have surged along with his prospects for revising the country's pacifist constitution, acquiring more powerful weapons and confronting China's rising regional clout.
While Abe hopes his growing stature will allow him to bolster Japan's military in the face of multiple threats beyond North Korea, he risks alarming neighbors who have not forgotten the horrors of its World War II-era expansion.
"In a sense, it's as if China and North Korea are supporting Abe's popularity," said Yukihisa Fujita, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party.
Fujita worries that Abe's moves will cause "unnecessary mistrust and tensions, not only by governments but also people in other countries."
Abe had set a deadline to revise the constitution by 2020 — the year Tokyo will host the Olympic Games — to formalize Japan's Self-Defense Forces as an actual military. While a mostly symbolic move, it's one that feeds red meat to his conservative base.
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