(MENAFN) According to Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, the government is examining a number of measures to strengthen its defenses, including the development of "counterattack capabilities." He attributed this significant deviation from Tokyo's long-standing pacifist policy to recent missile tests by North Korea.
On Tuesday, Hamada claimed during a briefing that Japan "will continue to examine all options – including so-called ‘counterattack capabilities’." The minister emphasized that the Land of the Rising Sun will not “rule out anything as we continue to work to fundamentally strengthen our defense abilities.”
Hamada noted that North Korea's aggressive actions in the area, particularly its most recent ballistic missile tests, had necessitated this significant revision to the nation's security strategy.
This kind of missile was shot by Pyongyang twice on Saturday, just after a combined anti-submarine practice in South Korea that was led by the United States. In only one week, it was the fourth such launch, according to Seoul and Tokyo.
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