Drawing on a Sankei Shimbun column and strategist Edward Luttwak’s analysis, this essay exposes Japan’s dangerous complacency in the face of growing threats from North Korea. It argues that the root of Japan’s paralysis lies in the constitutional fiction of trusting the “justice and faith of peace-loving nations.”

2017-04-23
The following is from yesterday’s front-page Sankei Sho column in the Sankei Shimbun.
A friend pointed it out to me, saying that the opening passage is laughable.
Emphasis within the text and passages marked with asterisks are mine.
Since the launch of his second administration, there has been a private individual with whom Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has met five times, including sharing lunches at the Prime Minister’s Office, to exchange views on global affairs.
That individual is Edward Luttwak, senior adviser at the major think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
They seem to get along remarkably well.
The renowned strategist’s new book, Give War a Chance (Bunshun Shinsho), devotes an entire chapter to North Korea.
According to the book, North Korea has two peculiar characteristics, the first of which he identifies as follows.
“One is that the leader’s hairstyle is terrible.”
This may be humor, but the other peculiarity—“its military-related technological capabilities should not be underestimated”—is far more serious.
As options for Japan, he lists four: “surrender,” “preemptive attack,” “deterrence,” and “defense,” but he harshly criticizes Japan for choosing none of them and instead opting for “the irresponsible attitude of ‘it’ll probably be all right.’”
As the anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army on the 25th approaches, tensions in East Asia are rising.
If North Korea proceeds with a nuclear test or an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch, there is a significant possibility that the United States will resort to the use of force.
The United States is also considering redesignating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Despite this, what the ruling and opposition parties are making a fuss about—following the Moritomo Gakuen issue—is now a female scandal involving a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker.
Meanwhile, a certain Democratic Party lawmaker claimed that he would seriously consider fleeing abroad if the conspiracy law were enacted.
Having been exposed as having repeatedly engaged in joint conspiracies with Chinese and South Korean intelligence agencies to undermine Japan’s national strength and weaken its government, he probably wants to flee the country before being arrested.
Was not the foremost duty of members of the Diet to protect the lives and property of the people?
Our nation’s illness of “peace-induced stupor” has reached a terminal stage, rendering it incapable of recognizing the realities of the world.
The cause of this illness lies in the constitutional deception that preaches the nonexistent “justice and faith of peace-loving nations.”
Indeed, constitutional revision is an urgent task.