Written on May 14, 2019, this essay, against the backdrop of North Korea’s abductions, the U.S.-North Korea summit, the Moon Jae In administration, China’s expanding hegemony, and the realities of Japan’s security system, asks what Japan must do to become a nation capable of protecting its own people rather than merely indulging in criticism of the Abe administration.

2019-05-14
What must be recognized is that without the cooperation of the United States, present-day Japan does not even have the power to rescue Japanese citizens.
This is a chapter I published one year ago today, on 2018-05-14, under the title: Do They Have in Their Field of Vision Such Issues as the International Situation and the Recovery of the Abductees?
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
No matter which country or which leader he met, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe always spoke of the abductions, the state crime committed by North Korea.
The same was true even during his tours of African countries far from Japan.
He asked every country’s leaders for cooperation toward resolving the problem, and built within the international community a network of moral sanctions against North Korea.
That is why, at the Japan-U.S. summit meeting in Florida in April, President Trump said the following.
“Because resolving the abduction issue is the most important issue for Shinzo, it is important to me as well.”
Amid the succession of the inter-Korean summit, the China-North Korea summit, and the planned U.S.-North Korea summit, there has been criticism such as, “The Abe administration is left out,” and “There is almost no U.S. consideration for Japan, which bears the abduction issue,” but such criticism is irresponsible.
Criticism of the administration that runs counter to the facts endangers the footing of the administration and in the end benefits North Korea and China behind it.
Now is the time for the Japanese people to gather their strength and face this national crisis.
Even if there is understanding and sympathy for the abduction issue within the Trump administration, the situation is not easy, and the U.S.-North Korea summit in June will become a turning point for Japan.
With China becoming North Korea’s sponsor, with American hostages being released, and with an atmosphere of inter-Korean reconciliation being staged, it is more difficult for the United States to press either the Libya model or a military option.
Even if the denuclearization of North Korea were to be realized, is there any guarantee that the United States would continue to be involved in the Korean Peninsula thereafter?
Looking at President Moon Jae In’s socialist revolutionary course in South Korea, there is also a high possibility that South Korea will move closer to North Korea and that freedom and democracy will be lost from the Korean Peninsula.
When the 38th parallel moves south to Tsushima, can old Japan cope with it?
China’s expansion of influence has continued steadily during this period as well.
By the constitutional amendment in March of this year, Xi Jinping obtained the position of state president for life.
The legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the military, and furthermore the media, people’s lives, and religion all come under the direct control of the Chinese Communist Party.
Xi intends to spread the ideology of the Communist Party not only domestically but also into Asia, Africa, and Europe, beginning with the Belt and Road.
As the U.S.-China confrontation is already becoming conspicuous in Taiwan and the South China Sea, the United States will not accept such Chinese domination of the world.
As tensions between the United States and China rise, Japan has no choice but coordination with the United States.
What must be recognized is that without the cooperation of the United States, present-day Japan does not even have the power to rescue Japanese citizens.
Before criticizing the administration by saying it is “left out,” all parties and all politicians should rack their brains over what Japan as a nation should do to resolve the abduction issue and what it should do to become a country capable of protecting its citizens.
Nevertheless, after taking 18 consecutive holidays, when Diet deliberations finally began, once again the Kake Gakuen issue appeared.
On May 10, after the reference witness appearance of former prime ministerial secretary Tadao Yanase, Seiji Osaka of the Constitutional Democratic Party mentioned the possibility of calling Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura and others to the Diet from the standpoint that a further thorough investigation was necessary.
Do they have in their field of vision such issues as the international situation and the recovery of the abductees?