ABSTRACT
The end of the Cold War gave Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) a chance to significantly improve their diplomatic relations. The DPRK became a major national security concern for Japan. In January 1991, Japan and the DPRK had the first round of their normalization talks. This chapter examines Japan's policy toward North Korea's nuclear issue. It focuses on Japan's response to the second nuclear crisis, which resulted from the United States (US) revelation of Pyongyang's uranium enrichment activity in October 2002 and the subsequent collapse of the Agreed Framework of 1994. This chapter analyzes how the abduction issue has affected Japan's approach to the North Korean nuclear issue. It discusses the factors that affected Japan's stance toward the nuclear issue, and considers its future direction. The future direction of Japan's policy stance toward North Korea's nuclear development will depend largely on the US'. s policy choice.
