Is Japan Capable Of Launching Military Operations Against North Korea?

This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 23, 2016 shows a test launch of the surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic missile Hwasong-10 at an undisclosed location in North Korea. KCNA

Kyle Mizokami, National Interest: What Would Japan Do if They Discovered North Korea Was About to Start a Nuclear War?

While a preemptive-strike capability for Japan isn’t impossible, it is more difficult than many observers realize. Building the force necessary for prosecuting an air campaign would certainly necessitate busting the 1 percent GDP cap on defense spending that Japan currently has in place, but like the prohibition on “offensive” weapons, that too is a policy matter that can be reversed. Another, less lethal national security concern is Japan’s debt problem, which is currently north of 200 percent GDP. Whatever path Japan decides to take won’t be easy.

It’s Japan’s ultimate nightmare: a RQ-4 Global Hawk belonging to Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) is watching a North Korean medium-range ballistic missile being readied for launch. The missile is being fueled, a process that can take hours. The incident follows days of incendiary North Korean rhetoric about Japan disappearing in a “wall of nuclear flames.” Reluctantly, Japan’s prime minister approves a preemptive strike designed to destroy the missile before it is ready for launch.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It appears that Japanese public opinion is becoming more "hard-core" against North Korea .... Japan Wants War With North Korea's Kim Jong Un, Not Dialogue, New Poll Shows (Newsweek).