ABSTRACT
It appeared Japan might strike out on its own in North Korea policy, just at the time the United States was attempting to coordinate a new international position on the nuclear crisis. Abe has indicated that he intends to continue his close support and attention to the families of those Japanese abducted by North Korea from the 1970s onwards, and to challenge Pyongyang until it provides a full accounting of its actions. Koizumi's domestic political gamble and the problems of implementation, borne of over-confidence in the powers of the prime minister, could thus threaten US-Japan bilateral agreements that have taken several years to negotiate. Koizumi might argue that he merely asserted Japan's national interests as any 'normal' state would, and that he did not seek confrontation with Japan's neighbours.
