Japan paper adds to worries

On July 17, the Japanese cabinet approved the White Paper on Defense for 2009 in a meeting. As usual, the content of the 427-page paper was roughly the same as that of the preceding year. The few new points, from which people can easily detect the "special" policy messages, cover mainly two aspects. First, while focusing on playing up the "threat" from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China, it emphasizes the complexity and hazards of the surrounding security environment. Second, it goes all out to promote the legitimacy and need for adjusting the defense policy of Japan.

On the first aspect, it deliberately exaggerates two major "threats". The white paper remains almost unchanged when describing international situation and the national defense policy of other countries, but devotes considerable space to drawing a grim picture of the security situation in northeast Asia.

On the Korean peninsula, the paper notes that the nuclear tests and missile test-launches by DPRK may pose a "grave threat" to Japan. It said that the DPRK might have "very likely" made progress on its nuclear weapons project through the test in May. Thus, it "cannot rule out a possibility that Pyongyang could achieve the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and put them in warheads in a short term". Meanwhile, the missile launches in April showed that Pyongyang might have progressed in its long-range ballistic missiles. Moreover, the white paper makes a rare mention of DPRK leader Kim Jong-il's health problem, saying Pyongyang's system would be destabilized if its power structure underwent changes in the near future.