Hatoyama calls N Korea's reported missile firings regrettable

Tuesday 13th October, 11:49 AM JST

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15 Comments

M51T at 12:59 PM JST - 13th October

It is regrettable, especially as the Hatoyama administration seems to favour leaving the US nuclear umbrella. However, the first fast food place in NK is doing well. Burgers, waffles and hotdogs. You have to take the good with the bad.
joetheplumber at 01:12 PM JST - 13th October

Wait until the US some day do leave. NK will be at it more frequently. Keep pushing the US out and then wait and see and pray.
gogogo at 01:20 PM JST - 13th October

If it is true, it is quite regrettable

The media know before the PM of Japan, great leadership there.
rajakumar at 01:21 PM JST - 13th October

I hope the north koreans will use nuclear science to make power plants,instead wasting money,sabre rattling with love missiles.

They are at first stage of nuclear science,now they should go more to nuclear power plants,which will light up, their dark in the night nation.
joetheplumber at 01:31 PM JST - 13th October

NK is seeking a confrontation. It thinks it has the ability to tackle Japan, S Korea and the US. Time the west united against this dangerous country. Some day their missiles will fall on Japanese soil.
Yelnats at 02:14 PM JST - 13th October

I say, let them fire them. We do.
bamboohat at 02:54 PM JST - 13th October

I say let the U.S. leave, let NK pounce on Japan, then come back and clean house. That way they'll have twice as many bases...
YuriOtani at 12:22 AM JST - 14th October

North Korea is not a threat to Japan. The much smaller bankrupt country simply does not have the military to be a threat. Their navy is made up of obsolete ex soviet sodai gomi and their air force is made up of similar ex soviet gomi. None of their ships would get close to our shores having been sunk by our maritime self defense force and it would be the biggest "turkey shoot" as their old migs try and get close to Japan. I say bring it on North Korea! You can scare Americans and Republic of Korea but the people of Japan know better!
YuriOtani at 01:49 AM JST - 14th October

DenDon, The Americans want Japan to fear the bankrupt pathetic country to ensure a tight grip on Japan. There is nothing to fear from them. The Republic of Korea might have to worry but short of a "lucky" missile strike there is nothing they can do. Their troops do not have the means to invade Japan and their aircraft do not have the range.
Kokichi009 at 01:53 AM JST - 14th October

North Korea is going no where and neither is Japan. It will someday be time to dialogue for greater prosperity between both nations, and at that time, let the US take a back seat.
sfjp330 at 04:43 AM JST - 14th October

North Korea is a real threat and they are unpredicatable. Also, US is moving the big Okinawa base by 2014 to Guam. Currently, Okinawa has high 12 percent unemployment rate and how is Japan going to replace jobs that are going to be lost from the military base area? If you look from 60-90's, Japan only paid one percent of GDP for defense and US paid most of the cost to defend Japan during this time. You can call it cocky US attitude but what has Japan done for their own defense? If Japan has serious problems with North Korea in the future, they will call their daddy US and cry for help. Face the facts, Japan cannot do it by themselves.
Kokichi009 at 02:02 AM JST - 16th October

Your ignorance is your bliss my friend. If you think that Japan's spending is minimal than you fail to realize it has one of the largest defense budgets globally. Beyond that, your attitude that America is Japan's "daddy"... haha, so you have a kindergarten education in history and regional politics then. Its ok, thats expected of Americans. Honestly, if you don't recognize that US defense spending in Asia has nothing to do with protecting Japan but served as a platform for decades of failed attempts at regional influence, then you have no place measuring up to me in a discussion of this nature... "daddy" - thanks for coming out.
Kokichi009 at 02:06 AM JST - 16th October

Why are people so quick to assume that entire nations such as N. Korea, as hated as they are today - will not someday return to the community of nations at large? The blind assume that the powers of today will remain where they stand forever. But history and current geo-political trends suggest that economics and politics in Asia will eventually blend to form an economic/polotical block. There isn't a military intervention or force that could turn this tide for more than a breif period, and certainly not a US based one as attentions in American defense turn elsewhere. Face facts, Asian countries are far more involved in eachothers economics and politics than they are anyone elses. Despite the hickup that was the American era.
sfjp330 at 03:52 AM JST - 16th October

Your ignorance is your bliss my friend. If you think that Japan's spending is minimal than you fail to realize it has one of the largest defense budgets globally. Beyond that, your attitude that America is Japan's "daddy"... haha, so you have a kindergarten education in history and regional politics then. Its ok, thats expected of Americans.

If you read clearly, the "minimal spending" was meant during the 60's through early 1990's, which Japan was spending only 1 percent of GDP annually toward the defense. During this time, Japan's industry was concentrating mostly on export of consumer goods, which they did extremely well. U.S.govenment renegotiated the defense budget in the early 90's for Japan to take more shares of cost, which they have assumed responsibility at a higher GDP rate and that carried to this date. If the war starts with North Korea or other nations, is Japan ready and can Japan defend itself without asking U.S. or outside help? Probably not.
sfjp330 at 04:33 AM JST - 16th October

Why are people so quick to assume that entire nations such as N. Korea, as hated as they are today - will not someday return to the community of nations at large?

Because today, they are unpredictable. If you have quantities missiles, whether testing or real, flies over Sea of Japan and Japan frequently, this creates uneasiness and psychological instability with Japanese and Japapanese govenment. It's not the people of North Korea that is a problem, but their current leaders have difficulty communicating logically with outside world. You have to remember, North Korea never signed a peace treaty from the early 50's and they have been isolated for almost 60 years. It's possible "someday return to the community of nations at large", such as what Japan and Germany did after WW2, but NK has to make the first move for peaceful resolution.