March 29, 2024
Interviews

Why North Korean missile tests are a “gift” for Shinzo Abe

Historian Alexis Dudden says DPRK provocations provide justification for Tokyo's new militarism

Since the beginning of 2017, North Korea has carried out eleven missile tests, eight of which fell into the Sea of Japan (known as the East Sea by Koreans). And while the entire international community condemns North Korea’s nuclear testing, there is no other country in East Asia - short of the DPRK itself - that seems to dramatize the tests to the point of fear like Japan does.

Take the case of Japanese citizens’ spiked demand for nuclear shelters and air purifiers following the April 16 missile test, and the Tokyo Metro’s decision to halt train services following initial reports of the April 29 missile test.

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