| More than anything, I think that the Japanese statements amount to political pressure. Here we have Japan (and not the United States) coming out with the strongest statement against North Korea. Japan has relatively good relations with Russia. Russia's insistence on making any and all UN resolutions utterly pointless ... well, that's a position they may have to rethink.
Both Koreas are very much against the idea of Japan nullifying/amending the portion of their Constitution that disallows them an offensive military force. China is especially against such a move. But Kim Jong Il's actions are creating enough fear in Japan, that in all likelihood, the Japanese people and their government will believe that they have no choice.
Now, as for the feasability of a purely Japanese pre-emptive stike? No, I don't think that Japan truly capable of pulling it off. But let's bear in mind that the Japanese government fully realizes this, and their inability is going to scare them. It's going to lead them to insist upon building that very capacity into their military within the very near future.
What we are seeing, is the Japanese playing politics more than anything.
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