April 14, 2023

The Defense Ministry on April 13 announced that North Korea launched at least one ICBM-class missile at around 7:22 a.m. on that day.

Later on the same day, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo issued a comment protesting against North Korea’s missile launch and stating that what the Japanese government should do now is to form a diplomatic channel in order to prevent North Korea’s escalating military provocations and solve pending issues between the two countries through dialogue.

Shii criticized the Japanese government for going headlong into the strengthening of Japan’s military capabilities and the Japan-U.S. military alliance by taking advantage of North Korea’s provocative actions, while failing to make efforts to set up a channel of communications with Pyongyang, which is a dangerous path toward a vicious cycle of military escalation.

He again stressed that the urgent need is for Japan to set up a diplomatic channel between the two countries.